In April, Microsoft unveiled some new personal wellbeing features to help employees take breaks in between back-to-back meetings. The company has now announced that these updates will begin rolling out to the Viva Insights app in Microsoft Teams later this month.
“Back-to-back meetings increase stress and make it harder to stay engaged and focused. In just a few minutes a day, meditation and mindfulness with Headspace can help you reduce stress and improve focus. Starting later this month, we’re bringing a curated set of guided meditations and mindfulness exercises from Headspace to the Viva Insights app in Teams to help you start your day grounded, relax your mind before a big presentation, or disconnect from work in the evening,” said Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365.
First up, Microsoft Viva Insights is launching Headspace integration, which will add a curated set of guided meditations and mindfulness experiences to help decrease stress and stay focused after meetings. The feature will initially only be available to all Teams users who have English as their default language, and it will be accessible via the Home page of the Viva Insights app.
Later this year, Microsoft is introducing a new focus mode that will let users schedule a daily focus time via Teams. It features focus music and timers to help employees relax their minds before starting an important project or disconnect from work at home.
The Viva Insights app in Teams is also getting new quiet time user and admin settings in the coming months. This update will empower mobile users to create a better boundary between work and personal time by turning off notifications directly from Outlook and Teams.
Finally, the Redmond giant is also adding new admin controls in Microsoft Endpoint Manager, allowing IT Admins to create org-wide policies to mute notifications outside of working hours. To get started, we invite you to check out this Microsoft Mechanics video series to learn more about the Viva Insights experiences in Teams.
