Appraising our career values is an important step towards ensuring that we are doing work in alignment with who we are. Often, we become so caught up in our busy day-to-day routines that we forget to check in to make this inquiry. We forget to ask ourselves, “How well does this work that I’m doing correlate with my personal values?” Career value appraisal is one way of answering this question. It can help to deepen our sense of self-awareness and workplace awareness, while also acting as a stepping stone to exploring mindfulness at work.
Career Values in the Mindful Workplace
Regardless of the industry or profession that we are in, it is important to assess how well we are able to embody our values in the workplace. In a mindful workplace, where the culture of the organization is rooted in mindfulness practices and principles, it is likely that our values are being supported. However, this is not always the case. For this reason, it is important that we routinely check in.
This worksheet invites us to ask questions including (but not limited to):
- Regarding your profession, what are your values?
- When have your values been most severely tested?
- What values are most difficult for you to maintain and why?
These questions aren’t always easy to ask ourselves. Sometimes, they leave us with decisions we need to make. If we are not presently feeling that our work is aligned with our values, tough conversations will need to be had – whether with ourselves, our co-workers, our bosses, or all of the above. Perhaps we will uncover ways that we can collaboratively help to build a more mindful workplace that upholds the values of those within the organization.
Mindfulness at Work
Bringing mindfulness into the workplace is not as difficult as it might appear to be. Nowadays, more and more organizations are using mindfulness to increase the wellbeing of employees individually and of the company as a whole. To explore mindfulness at work, consider this list of 10 mindfulness exercises for work and purpose.
