Mindfulness at work: antecedents and consequences of employee awareness and absent-mindedness (original) (raw)
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Mindfulness at Work and Its Relationship to Contextual Performance and Well-Being
2011
The occurrence of mindfulness trainings in profit organisations is on the increase. However, mindfulness as a quality of consciousness has rarely been investigated in work settings or with work-related concepts. Thus, the present thesis examines mindfulness in relation to contextual performance and work-related well-being. Based on literature analyses I propose three hypotheses: Firstly, mindfulness is positively associated with helping and cooperating with others, mediated by empathy. Secondly, mindfulness has a negative relationship to strain. Thirdly, mindfulness is positively associated with work engagement. The first proposition implies that mindfulness plays a crucial role beyond task-orientated workbehavior. The latter propositions suggest that mindfulness is not only related to the attenuation of detrimental effects of work stressors, but that it is also associated with positive and fulfilling work-related states of mind. Thus, the present work implies that a) mindfulness plays a crucial role in the work context that should be further investigated, b) trait mindfulness can be considered as a variable in the process of personnel selection, and in particular c) that the integration of mindfulness trainings in work life is not only beneficial for profit-orientated corporations, but also for organizations and employees in other areas, in
OPUS, 2019
Workplace mindfulness and its impact have been inadequately understood so far within the managerial literature in Indian context. This paper examines the effects of workplace mindfulness on employees working in private sectors. The present study aimed to see the influence of mindfulness on employees' life satisfaction and job involvement. The study examined professionals, identified through purposive sampling of (N = 150, 86 males and 64 females). The tools used were-namely, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Job Involvement Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). To determine individual's degree of conscious awareness about things in work settings was assessed by using trait mindfulness construct (MAAS). The present study aimed to see the influence of mindfulness on employees' life satisfaction and job involvement. Mindfulness was found to be significantly mediating the relationship between life satisfaction and job involvement. Study also investigated the predictive power of mindfulness with respect to employees' life satisfaction. Findings support the hypotheses and claim for the positive correlation between the two constructs. We acknowledge the theoretical and factual implication of this research features provide broad pathways for more future researches on mindfulness in workplace settings.
An Integrative Review on the Research Progress of Mindfulness and Its Implications at the Workplace
Sustainability
Mindfulness has rapidly become a significant subject area in many disciplines. Most of the work on mindfulness has focused on the perspective of health and healthcare professionals, but relatively less research is focused on the organizational outcomes at the workplace. This review presents a theoretical and practical trajectory of mindfulness by sequential integration of recent fragmented scholarly work on mindfulness at the workplace. The review showcases that most contemporary practical challenges in organizations, such as anxiety, stress, depression, creativity, motivation, leadership, relationships, teamwork, burnout, engagement, performance, well-being, and physical and psychological health, could be addressed successfully with the budding concept of mindfulness. The causative processes due to higher mindfulness that generate positive cognitive, emotional, physiological, and behavioral outcomes include focused attention, present moment awareness, non-judgmental acceptance, sel...
2014
This chapter discusses the practice of mindfulness in organizations. In the first section we describe the growing interest in mindfulness training among organizations and discuss possible reasons for this development. We then review work on the definition and concept of mindfulness as they have been developed in psychology and organizational scholarship. In the second section, we discuss different forms of mindfulness practice in organizations, including Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) as the most prominent. The third section reviews empirical evidence on the effects of mindfulness on work-related outcomes and processes such as employee performance, employee wellbeing, leadership, and ethical decision making. We then discuss in more detail a recently developed self-administered mindfulness training program as it contains some unique and interesting features relevant to mindfulness intervention studies. In the fifth section, we present the results from qualitative interviews we conducted with participants of a corporate mindfulness training program. We conclude that the study and application of mindfulness in the workplace offers many promising directions; however, much more research is needed to create a basis of evidence for successful mindfulness training programs. Furthermore, a deeper understanding of the (intended and unintended) consequences, mediating mechanisms, moderating factors, and boundary conditions of mindfulness would benefit organizational scholarship.
Mind the Gap: The Link Between Mindfulness and Performance at Work Needs More Attention
Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2015
The concept of mindfulness has become the topic of heated debates among scholars and practitioners alike. Hyland, Lee, and Mills's (2015) focal article has an ambitious goal: distilling how mindfulness fits into workplace research and practice. This is laudable, and we are pleased that the authors are providing a review of the many ways in which mindfulness may benefit employees and organizations. Unfortunately, the authors fall short of their aspiration to produce a comprehensive overview of the link between workplace mindfulness and performance. We outline three points that we find may have helped the authors achieve their main objective.
Human Performance, 2017
Popular and academic press alike have concluded that mindfulness significantly benefits healthy individuals as well as those suffering from physical and psychological problems. Workplace interventions, clinical therapies, and popular self-help programs aimed at enhancing mindfulness abound, and research has demonstrated the efficacy of such mindfulness interventions in enhancing mindful states. It is of importance to note that research also suggests the average frequency with which individuals experience states of mindfulness varies from person to person, underscoring the existence of a dispositional tendency toward mindfulness-trait mindfulness. We meta-analytically cumulate the results of 270 independent studies (N = 58,592 adults from nonclinical samples) of trait mindfulness in order to explore its personal and professional correlates. Results suggest the benefits of trait mindfulness extend to both personal and professional domains. With regards to personal benefits, trait mindfulness was found to be positively correlated with confidence (ρ = .39), mental health (ρ = .38), emotional regulation (ρ = .40), and life satisfaction (ρ = .36), and negatively correlated with perceived life stress (ρ =-.43), negative emotions (ρ =-.40), anxiety (ρ =-.34), and depression (ρ =-.38). Professionally, results suggest trait mindfulness may benefit job satisfaction (ρ = .29), performance (ρ = .34), and interpersonal relations (ρ = .31), while also reducing burnout (ρ =-.48) and work withdrawal (ρ =-.17). Meta-analytic regressions also suggest trait mindfulness adds incremental predictive variance over more traditional predictors of employee burnout and work performance. Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, Concentrate the mind on the present.-Buddha Mindlessness-the human tendency to operate on autopilot, work by rote, or simply not pay attention-is pervasive in today's society (Langer, 2014). Indeed, few of us are even aware of the extent to which we live and work mindlessly. Have you ever walked into a room only to forget why you wanted to go there in the first place? Or have you left work with the intent of stopping by the grocery store, only to find yourself pulling into your driveway at home, belatedly realizing you'd been preoccupied and forgotten to stop by the store? These scenarios are minor annoyances, but when extrapolated to other life situations begin to paint a picture of the problems associated with mindlessness. Being mindless while at work, for example, can sometimes mean the difference between life and death, especially in high-stakes jobs. For example, a trauma surgeon ruminating over a prior case may prescribe the wrong drug or miss an important symptom while treating a patient. Distracted firefighters, combat soldiers, and police officers are at increased risk of injury and are less likely to be able to protect others. Even in jobs where the stakes aren't quite so high, being distracted, failing to focus on the current task, and constantly second-guessing one's prior decisions
The effect of mindfulness training on employees in a dynamic organizational setting
Ijmbs, 2014
The access to information and multiple sources of communication has changed the way we work, and relate to our work day. The boundaries between work and home often disappear, increasing potentially employees' stress level, diminishing cognitive capabilities, and splitting attention between numerous tasks. The consequences of multitasking have been widely studied, as well as individual differences. Based on other studies, mindfulness based stress reduction (MSBR) method appears to have a positive effect e.g. on attention, working memory, stress and empathy. Thus, this experiment introduces an intervention in the form of mindfulness training, which lasted for 12 weeks for all 110 employees, who are located in 13 countries world wide. In addition, employees attended a seminar per week during 10 weeks. These seminars were mainly based on positive psychology. In order to collect data three surveys were sent out (before the intervention, 12 weeks after the first seminar and 6 months later). Two specific measurements were used, which are Mindfulness Awareness Scale (MASS) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Findings showed a significant increase in MAAS, and diminishing values in PSS, meaning that treatment, in the form of MBSR had an affect on the perceived stress in the firm.
Frontiers in psychology, 2018
Mindfulness trainings are increasingly offered in workplace environments in order to improve health and productivity. Whilst promising, there is limited research on the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions in workplace settings. To examine the feasibility and effectiveness of a Workplace Mindfulness Training (WMT) in terms of burnout, psychological well-being, organizational and team climate, and performance. This is a preliminary field study in four companies. Self-report questionnaires were administered up to a month before, at start of, and right at the end of the WMT, resulting in a pre-intervention and an intervention period. There was no separate control group. A total of 425 participants completed the surveys on the different time points. Linear mixed model analyses were used to analyze the data. When comparing the intervention period with the pre-intervention period, significantly greater improvements were found in measures of burnout (mean difference = 0.3, < 0.001...
Mindfulness in the Workplace: An Exploratory Study
This paper examines the effects mindfulness meditation has on people's work lives. In it, we present an analysis of interviews with eight managers and professionals who have a meditation practice. This exploratory study is designed to generate hypotheses about a new topic in the management research literature. Analysis of the interviews suggest that people who practice mindfulness may become more aware of their social and physical environment at work; become more accepting of their work situation; develop more modest, realistic, sustainable work goals; become more selfless at work; become less concerned with material acquisition and wealth; develop a more internal locus of evaluation; become more likely to derive meaning in life from sources other than just work; become better able to cope and remain calm in difficult work situations; become more likely to experience work difficulties as challenges than threats; enjoy their work more; become more adaptable at work; and develop more positive interpersonal relations at work.
Contemplating Mindfulness at Work
Journal of Management
Mindfulness research activity is surging within organizational science. Emerging evidence across multiple fields suggests that mindfulness is fundamentally connected to many aspects of workplace functioning, but this knowledge base has not been systematically integrated to date. This review coalesces the burgeoning body of mindfulness scholarship into a framework to guide mainstream management research investigating a broad range of constructs. The framework identifies how mindfulness influences attention, with downstream effects on functional domains of cognition, emotion, behavior, and physiology. Ultimately, these domains impact key workplace outcomes, including performance, relationships, and well-being. Consideration of the evidence on mindfulness at work stimulates important questions and challenges key assumptions within management science, generating an agenda for future research.