A Swiss army knife? How science challenges our understanding of mindfulness in the workplace☆
Introduction
In the modern world, mindfulness practices such as meditation have recently been adopted successfully in therapeutic contexts including clinical psychology. More recently, mindfulness has attracted the attention of organizations, including management and corporate trainers, as they seek to gain the positive outcomes of mindfulness for individuals in the workplace. Fuelling this rapidly emerging $1B industry is a swift growth in research demonstrating the value of mindfulness in organizational life. Our search of peer reviewed publications on “mindfulness and workplace” found a 181% increase from 2013 to 2017. However, despite its potential value, mindfulness can be challenging to integrate into organizational life. In this paper we provide insight into the best of science and practice to help organizational decision makers better understand and navigate the complexities in mindfulness at work, and thus derive benefits from these interventions.
After describing what mindfulness is, we situate mindfulness alongside traditional training interventions, and then review the benefits of mindfulness in the workplace. In doing so, we point out the potential levers available for managers to pull in order to influence mindfulness in their organization. We close with a discussion of emerging applications and challenges in applying mindfulness in the workplace.
Section snippets
What is Mindfulness?
Broadly speaking, mindfulness involves non-reactive and non-evaluative awareness and attention to the present moment. In other words, mindfulness involves present moment awareness and attention. This aspect of mindfulness is important because our minds wander – about half of our waking hours. Rather than being in the moment, people tend to think about the future, such as potential problems or issues, or to ruminate about the past, such as undesirable incidents that have taken place. When
Benefits of Mindfulness at Work
As individuals engage in Being While Doing, they have more cognitive tools at their disposal to function better in an array of workplace situations. Mindfulness starts with attention. The modern world bombards us constantly with stimuli that drain and distract our attention. Mindfulness directs and conserves attention, keeping it anchored in the present, on our work and those around us. Through higher-quality attention, mindfulness helps us think, feel and act better (see Fig. 3). It helps us
Managing Mindfulness at Work
What can managers do to encourage employee’s ability to foster “Being While Doing?” The answer is two-fold: (1) offer opportunities for mindfulness training interventions and (2) manage the workplace environment in ways that support mindfulness. We expand on each of these options below.
Conclusion
Overall, managers and practitioners need to be aware of the strengths as well as the challenges associated with inculcating mindfulness in the workplace. Mindfulness does not compensate for bad leadership, toxic cultures, or unfair work demands. Interventions to improve mindfulness at work require careful adaptation and implementation. With these caveats in mind, we are encouraged by the mounting scientific evidence of the benefits of mindfulness. While the above cautions can serve as a guide
Selected bibliography
To read more about mindfulness at work and the cognitive and psychological mechanisms of mindfulness - and benefits of mindfulness at work - we suggest you read the article by Darren Good and Chris Lyddy. Good, D. J., Lyddy, C. J., Glomb, T. M., Bono, J. E., Brown, K. W., Duffy, M. K., Lazar, S. W. (2016). Contemplating Mindfulness at Work: An Integrative Review. Journal of Management, 42, 114–142. http://doi.org/10.1177/014,920,631,561,700. In terms of Being mindful at work, or understanding
Maree Roche (University of Waikato. Waikato Management School, Faculty of Management, University of Waikato | Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand, Tel.: +64 7837 9214, e-mail: [email protected] (Corresponding author)). Maree Roche is Co-Director of the Leadership Unit, Waikato Management School, New Zealand. Maree’s expertise is in leadership and wellbeing and she has published widely in top tier management and psychology journals including Personnel Psychology, Journal of
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Maree Roche (University of Waikato. Waikato Management School, Faculty of Management, University of Waikato | Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand, Tel.: +64 7837 9214, e-mail: [email protected] (Corresponding author)). Maree Roche is Co-Director of the Leadership Unit, Waikato Management School, New Zealand. Maree’s expertise is in leadership and wellbeing and she has published widely in top tier management and psychology journals including Personnel Psychology, Journal of Business Ethics and Journal of Occupational and Health Psychology.
Darren Good (Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, USA). Darren Good is Associate Professor of Applied Behavioral Science, at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, California, USA. He is widely published in business management and psychological science journals. He also serves as associate editor, Organizational Psychology, Frontiers in Psychology. Dr. Good is considered among the leading scholars addressing the topic of mindfulness in the workplace.
Christopher Lyddy (Providence College). Christopher Lyddy is Assistant Professor at Providence College, Rhode Island, USA. His research explores the nature, integration, and impacts of mindfulness at work. He has published multiple research articles on mindfulness, including an influential review at the Journal of Management.
Michelle Tuckey (University of South Australia, Australia). Michelle Tuckey is Professor of Work & Organisational Psychology at the University of South Australia. Michelle is widely published on topics related to workplace bullying, stress, and well-being, and currently serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology and International Journal of Stress Management.
Marina Grazier (Mindfulness Exchange, UK). Marina Grazier trained and taught at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre and Co-Founded The Mindfulness Exchange (TME) in 2012. Located in the UK, Marina also pioneers mindfulness trainer training, for mindfulness teachers and corporate professionals taking mindfulness into the workplace.
Hannes Leroy (Erasmus University, The Netherlands). At Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Hannes Leroy is Associate Professor. Dr Leroy’s expertise is in leadership development at work, with a focus on authenticity and mindfulness. Hannes has published in top tier journals including Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Journal of Management.
Ute Hülsheger (Masstricht University, The Netherlands). Ute Hülsheger is Professor of Occupational Health Psychology at Maastricht University, The Netherlands and head of section Work and Organizational Psychology. She has published on mindfulness in the work context in top-tier outlets and has served on various editorial boards, including the Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology and Journal of Business and Psychology.
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A version of this paper is published by the Alliance for Organizational Psychology (AOP) as part of their White Paper Series.