Civil Engineering August 2021 | Vol 29 No 7

From the Pres ident ’ s desk Civil Engineering August 2021 1 B eing in the civil engineering profession, we are used to the demands that come with the job, be it project deadlines, client satisfaction or other operational commitments that demand our analytical skills. However, little has been done to ensure that engineering professionals are trained in innovation and creativity skills. While it is good that engineers enter the work environment with analytical skills, research has shown that mindfulness can help engineers and engineering professionals to reinforce their skills in order to be more innovative and crea- tive. It also allows them to generate new ideas and solutions to complex problems. PRACTISING MINDFULNESS Mindfulness can be defined as maintaining the awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and surrounding environment in the present moment. By incorporating mindfulness practices into daily rou- tines, we can improve our mental health, empathy, patience, and compassion, as well as reduce our bias. Moreover, mindfulness improves communication and self-awareness. By practicing mindfulness, engineers may become better problem-solvers due to its association with divergent thinking. The hypothesis is that by increasing your curiosity while at the same time letting your mind wander, you can open yourself up to a wide array of possible solutions. Once you have explored all the options mindfully and you have looked at out-of-the-box solu- tions, you are better prepared to make logical decisions. Having an open and curious attitude also allows individuals to freshly evaluate problems and engage in new viewpoints on how those problems can be solved. By having an open mind to different experiences, we are able to connect unrelated concepts, which is vital to creating innovative ideas. Divergent thinking is also important when developing innovative solutions. Furthermore, having a mindful attitude shows an admirable characteristic of self-compassion which helps to guard against severe self-criticism and fear of failure. These actions tend to inspire people to take on more risks as well as discover unfamiliar areas, thereby leading to new, creative and innovative solutions. Unfortunately, these skills are not part of our universities’ engineering curricula, which tend to focus on more rigid, ana- lytical skills that train engineering students to become proficient in working on their own to simply find the correct answers to problems. However, research has shown that mindfulness can be enhanced through continuous practice, and many large corpora- tions are now incorporating mindfulness training into the work environment in order to promote emotional intelligence and improve the welfare of their workforce. We are used to the usual practice of working at full capacity from one project to the next and we often do not even consider taking time to recharge and refocus before taking on the next project with a much fresher view of what is to be accomplished. Being mindful of this leads to increased clarity on what is required, it contributes to productivity and, most importantly, it alleviates a lot of stress that would otherwise be encountered. Studies have shown that mindfulness can be achieved by meditation, yoga, and even a mindful lunch away from the desk, in order to calm the mind and rejuvenate the mindset. Engineers that include mindful practices during their working day can increase their efficiency, be more peaceful, and show total job satisfaction in their current work environment. One of the biggest benefits of mindfulness is its positive effect on mental health. The stress and pressure of our jobs is leading to an increase in anxiety and depression and, for some, serious mental health problems. The mental wellbeing of employees has a major influence on how effective they are, especially when it comes to the demands of the engineering profession. It is a known fact that most of us are more effective when we are less stressed. Mindfulness is the practice of building awareness around your thoughts, body, and surroundings in the present moment and thereby counteracts depression by not focusing on the past and alleviates anxiety by not being too concerned about the future. Through the practice of being mindful of the present, you have full control of your current situation, allowing you to excel in your work, and arrive at more effective solutions, in turn adding value to the bottom line of the company. CONCLUSION Although mindfulness benefits any profession, it is particularly useful for us in the engineering profession due to our analytical mindset, logical thinking style and high workload. Embracing and practicing mindful- ness can assist us to think “out of the box”, have innovative ideas, and collaborate more easily to achieve short- and long-term goals, ultimately making us better engineers. Vishal Krishandutt SAICE President 2021 president@saice.org.za Mindfulness in the engineering profession