Awareness in a company is one of the indicators of its effectiveness in the market. Personal development has long been a part of daily human life. Not only regular people but also top managers and business owners are interested in mindfulness. Mindfulness means an approach to work and one’s free time, that implies focusing on one task at a time (Asthana, 2021). Awareness implies that one has time to reflect on one’s actions and make conscious decisions. In fact, the concept of mindfulness is more comprehensive than meditative practices and mental attitude. It is not only an awareness of the moment and oneself in it. It includes everyday habits and needs, the filling of a flat or a house – the meanings and values by which a person lives and shapes their space. In my company, which specializes in designing and constructing buildings, the staff are very close to the mindfulness philosophy and try to integrate it into all their projects. The company has defined several components for itself: consciousness, harmony, and sustainability.
Regarding the first component, consciousness, it is primarily a question of deliberate choice and deliberate consumption. The customer is shaping today’s housing market – an excellent incentive for all developers to create exciting products and put an emphasis on quality and originality. Standardization is passing, and the flat is now becoming a space to live in rather than a faceless place to sleep in (Bahl, 2017). Stuffiness is being replaced by functionality and creativity. It is also displayed in employees sorting their waste, doing away with plastic, and reconsidering their daily diet.
The second component, harmony, is evident in the fact that customers today are more demanding of themselves and their surroundings. They travel abroad more often, and they are interested in the latest trends in architecture and design. People are tired of running out and simply having something. People want harmony and balance: between work and family, personal hobbies, and friends. The management team strives to ensure that all the objects are in harmony with their surroundings: existing buildings, streets, the city. In doing so, the company offer the client a variety of living rhythms – in layouts, internal infrastructure, locations. A home is a place that should be as harmonious as possible and communicate with the utility providers as efficiently and comfortably as possible.
Speaking of sustainability, we are not just talking about well-known energy-efficient technologies. Today insulation of the walls, curtain-type ventilated facades, and energy-efficient windows are no longer considered innovations – they are our time requirements (Karlin, 2018). As far as the employees are concerned, sustainability also manifests itself in how people treat the environment. One of its core values is the preservation of green areas. The company’s task is to give the city back to the people, preserve existing facilities, and create new ones. The employees study foreign experiences and do much experimenting – for example, one of the residential complexes built will have lighting that automatically dims at night. This will not scare away the birds that live in the neighborhood, creating the most natural living conditions. If every proprietor builds their business on the principles of mindfulness, everyone will benefit, regardless of the activity. The main point is to continually learn and develop, set high standards, and anticipate clients’ expectations.
References
Asthana, A. N. (2021). Effectiveness of mindfulness in business education: evidence from a controlled experiment. The International Journal of Management Education, 19(2), 1-22.
Bahl, S. (2017). Paradoxes of teaching mindfulness in business. In Monteiro, L., Compson, J., & Musten, F. (Eds). Mindfulness in Behavioral Health, 127-145. Springer.
Karlin, D. S. (2018). Mindfulness in the workplace. Strategic HR Review, 17(2), 76-80.