Mindfulness can lead to reduced cognitive dissonance, which boosts productivity.

Komal Singh

HR & People Development Consultant | Mindfulness & Emotional Intelligence Facilitator | POSH Trainer | NLP Practitioner | Visiting Faculty | Research Scholar | Lifelong Learner & Spiritual Seeker

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Incorporating mindfulness into an employee's daily routine can reduce cognitive dissonance, resulting in a more productive and fulfilling work-life.

With the emergence of hybrid or complete work-from-home culture due to the pandemic, self-leadership has become a crucial factor in work performance.

Meanwhile, cognitive dissonance can pose a significant obstacle to work productivity.

In simple words, we can explain cognitive dissonance as the discrepancy in knowing and doing (behaviour).

In 1957, Leon Festinger published his theory related to Cognitive Dissonance.

Ever since its inception, countless studies have been conducted on his theory, uncovering the determinants of attitudes, beliefs, and values internalisation, as well as shedding light on the consequences of decisions, the effects of disagreement among persons, and other significant psychological processes.

In his studies, he has given an example of a smoker who is aware of the harmful effects of smoking but still continues to do so.

Smokers may address cognitive dissonance through two key approaches: behavioural modification or cognitive restructuring.

The former involves reducing smoking frequency, while the latter involves adopting positive beliefs about smoking.

Specifically, smokers may perceive smoking as less harmful than other common causes of death, such as automobile accidents.

Alternatively, they may also view smoking as a means of reducing stress and promoting relaxation.

By adopting these positive beliefs and attitudes, smokers may begin to feel more in control of their smoking habits and promote a healthier lifestyle.

Similar to Leon Festinger’s illustrated example, employees who work from home may have a good understanding of the importance of maintaining discipline and staying focused towards work goals.

However, they may still struggle to actually put this knowledge into practice.

This can lead to procrastination and a decrease in overall productivity.

Working from home can present a unique set of challenges, such as distractions from family members or household chores, which can be hard to resist.

Additionally, without the structure and routine of a traditional office environment, it can be difficult for some employees to establish a work-life balance and maintain a consistent schedule.

So, the overall result will be despite being aware that the work schedule needs to be maintained, still, employee gets into the habit of delaying it.

Several studies suggest that practising mindfulness can increase self-discipline and self-esteem, which is important for changing behaviour and reducing dissonance.

Famous Author and Founder of MBSR has defined mindfulness as “Awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.”

Awareness and Attention are building blocks in mindfulness.

Self-awareness helps us in identifying the patterns which leads to undisciplined behaviour, and attention will keep us motivated to stay on course.

Thus, with the practice of mindfulness both of these skills can be cultivated and performance can be enhanced along with balanced wellbeing.