Mindfulness at work: resource accumulation, well-being, and attitudes

Purpose – Mindfulness is a well-studied phenomenon in many disciplines. Little is known about its impacts on employees at work. The purpose of this paper is to focus on mindfulness at work, defined as a psychological state in which employees intentionally pay full attention to the present moment while executing job tasks. The research model, grounded in conservation of resources theory, depicts how mindfulness at work may help employees develop resources (work-family balance and job engagement) which may be associated with greater well-being (less psychological distress and more job satisfaction) and organizational attitudes (intent to turnover and affective commitment). Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of 503 full time employees, the authors test the model with structural equation modeling. Findings – Results supported the full research model, suggesting that mindfulness at work is an important antecedent to resource accrual, well-being, and organizational attitudes. Mindfulness at work exerted direct and indirect effects on turnover intentions and affective commitment. Research limitations/implications – The inclusion of job engagement as a mediator provides an interesting counterpoint and extension of prior studies suggesting that job engagement negates the effects of mindfulness on turnover intentions (Dane, 2014). Practical implications – The research suggests that mindfulness at work is highly trainable and may enhance a variety of career outcomes. Originality/value – This study extends emerging literature on mindfulness at work by offering a new scale grounded in established theory and the practice of mindfulness.