Friday, March 25, 2011

Zen Den

Yesterday, I had breakfast with Jacob Schreiber, a colleague of mine and local community leader. We discussed our organizations, priorities and challenges. He inquired about the stress of the job. It's interesting to think about stressful jobs. In healthcare we make decisions everyday that could impact many lives - it could be surgical decisions, clinical decisions on the nursing floors, decisions on how we will treat one another, financial decisions and the list goes on...

Our jobs in healthcare and all of our organizations for that matter probably are stressful in many ways. My thought is that you should not be stressed everyday though. That would be a terrible way to come to work and certainly would make you ineffective.

Jenny (my wife) and I were talking about this last night. She mentioned having more "zen" or relaxation space at work. So I looked up zen in the office on Google and found a company, Ballantyne that has a "Zen Den". I think it is a great idea. As Ballantyne sees it, managing workplace stress has never been more important than it is in today’s economic climate. The Zen Den aims to help tenants find the balance with a room in which they can relax, reflect and rejuvenate. The room has been created to provide a soothing environment with soft lighting, comfy seating and even a water feature. “We’re constantly looking for ways to improve the work lives of our clients,” says Amanda Schüss, general manager of Ballantyne Business Centers. “The Zen Den provides a place for them to escape their e-mail and ringing phones and sit and relax for a few peaceful moments.”

Last year, we updated and renovated our healing garden outside. We do have space next to our cafeteria for a Zen Den concept.

I would like your thoughts...let me know what you think could make this a respite at work even if just for a few minutes a day.

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