Business Commons^™

Effects Of A Mindfulness-Based Leadership Training On Leadership Behaviors And Effectiveness, Nina Tan, Eva Katharina Peters, Jochen Reb

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Objectives: Organizations increasingly integrate mindfulness elements into their leadership development. However, there is limited evidence supporting the efficacy of mindfulness-based leadership training (MBLT) due to a scarcity of intervention studies. Theoretically, little is known about mediating mechanisms through which MBLT might affect leadership effectiveness. Thus, this research examined whether MBLT can improve leadership effectiveness and whether leadership behaviors mediated this effect.MethodsWe conducted a quasi-experimental study conducted in a real-world setting with an active control condition. Sixty leaders from various industries participated in either a 2-day intensive MBLT workshop followed by three individual coaching sessions over 3 months, or a presentation …

Mindfully Outraged: Mindfulness Increases Deontic Retribution For Third-Party Injustice, Adam A. Kay, Theodore Charles Masters-Waage, Jochen Reb, Pavlos A. Vlachos

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Mindfulness is known to temper negative reactions by both victims and perpetrators of injustice. Accordingly, critics claim that mindfulness numbs people to injustice, raising concerns about its moral implications. Exam-ining how mindful observers respond to third-party injustice, we integrate mindfulness with deontic justice theory to propose that mindfulness does not numb but rather enlivens people to injustice committed by others against others. Results from three studies show that mindfulness heightens moral outrage in witnesses of injustice, particularly when the injustice is only moderate. Although these findings did not replicate with a mindfulness induction, post-hoc analysis in a fourth study reveals …

Finding Calm Amidst Chaos, Lisa Knowles Dds

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This commentary on mindfulness and wellness provides the practitioner with strategies to achieve peace amidst chaos.

Mindfulness Attenuates Both Emotional And Behavioral Reactions Following Psychological Contract Breach: A Two-Stage Moderated Mediation Model, Samah Shaffakat, Lilian Otaye-Ebede, Jochen Reb, Rajesh Chandwani, Pisitta Vongswasdi

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Breach of the psychological contract between organization and employee often evokes employee hostility, which in turn can instigate deviant behaviors. We examine whether employee mindfulness attenuates these reactions to psychological contract breach. Specifically, we develop and test a two-stage moderated mediation model in which employee mindfulness moderates the mediational path from psychological contract breach via hostility to deviance by attenuating both emotional and behavioral reactions. Findings across four studies (with 872 employee participants) both measuring and manipulating breach and mindfulness demonstrate substantial support for the proposed model. Further analyses including alternative moderators, mediators, and dependent variables provide evidence for discriminatory …

It's So Boring - Or Is It? Examining The Role Of Mindfulness For Work Performance And Attitudes In Monotonous Jobs, Andreas Wihler, Ute R. Hulsheger, Jochen Reb, Jochen I. Menges

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examine the role of employee mindfulness in the context of highly monotonous work conditions. Integrating research on task monotony with theorizing on mindfulness, we hypothesized that mindfulness is negatively associated with the extent to which employees feel generally bored by their jobs. We further hypothesized that this lower employee boredom would relate to downstream outcomes in the form of job attitudes (job satisfaction and turnover intentions) and task performance. We examined both objective task performance quality and quantity to shed light on the complexity of the mindfulness-task performance relation, which has so far mostly been investigated using subjective supervisor …

It’S So Boring – Or Is It? Examining The Role Of Mindfulness For Work Performance And Attitudes In Monotonous Jobs, Andreas Wihler, Ute R. Hülsheger, Jochen Reb, Jochen I. Menges

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examine the role of employee mindfulness in the context of highly monotonous work conditions. Integrating research on task monotony with theorizing on mindfulness, we hypothesized that mindfulness is negatively associated with the extent to which employees feel generally bored by their jobs. We further hypothesized that this lower employee boredom would relate to downstream outcomes in the form of job attitudes (job satisfaction and turnover intentions) and task performance. We examined both objective task performance quality and quantity to shed light on the complexity of the mindfulness–task performance relation, which has so far mostly been investigated using subjective supervisor …

An Initial Examination Of State And Longitudinal Effects Of Loving-Kindness Practice On Affective And Motivational States At Work, Theodore Charles Masters-Waage, Jochen Reb, William Tov

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Objectives: Drawing on practices and concepts from Buddhist ethics, we developed a loving-kindness training. We investigated the state and longitudinal effects of this training on employees’ affective and motivational states at work in two studies. Methods: Study 1 tested this training program in a randomized controlled trial, comparing the effects of loving-kindness practice on employee affect and motivation with an active (mindfulness) and a passive (waitlist) control condition. Analyses focused on both longitudinal effects (increases in affect and motivation over the training period) and state effects (effects of practice on daily affect and motivation). Study 2 conducted a 1-week study …

A Self-Regulation Model Of Leader Authenticity Based On Mindful Self-Regulated Attention And Political Skill, Erik Dietl, Jochen Reb

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Despite much research on leader authenticity, its antecedents remain poorly understood. We develop a self-regulatory model of leader authenticity. The model explains how both mindful self-regulated attention and political skill, as well as their interaction, are important for leaders to be authentic, and ultimately effective. Mindful self-regulated attention – a core dimension of mindfulness defined as sustained attention centered on the present moment – helps leaders stay connected to their core self amid the busyness of their (work) lives, allowing leaders to feel authentic. And, particularly in combination with political skill – a social effectiveness construct –, it helps leaders …

Mindfulness: A Promising Practice To Reduce Accountant Stress, Abigail Anderson

Marriott Student Review

This article considers the practice of mindfulness as an approach to reduce stress within the lives of accountants. Mindfulness has existed for centuries as a Buddhist tradition and has only recently become popular in the Western world as a stress-reduction technique that can lead to improved mental and emotional well-being. This article also examines the prevalence of mindfulness within the Top 10 accounting firms in the United States and some results regarding employee performance. As more and more firms begin to utilize mindfulness as a low-cost method to better employee performance and well-being, university accounting programs should consider incorporating the …

Mindfulness, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is described as “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p. 22). Instead of being on autopilot and reacting in reflexive and mindless ways, perhaps with a focus on the past or the future, it is about being fully aware of and present in the moments of our lives. The nonjudgmental aspect is about not leaping to “likes and dislikes, opinions and prejudices, projections and expectations” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p. 23) and instead observing without evaluating. Mindfulness is considered both a trait and a state. Trait mindfulness refers …

Considerations For Introducing, Facilitating, And Expanding Mindfulness Training In The Workplace, Laura H. Saher

Mindfulness Studies Theses

This creative thesis is designed to further the understanding of the considerations for offering mindfulness training in the workplace and to offer mindfulness practitioners a guide for introducing and facilitating mindfulness training into their workplaces. This thesis consists of two primary components: 1) a rationale paper and 2) a creative component. The rationale paper includes a literature review that focuses on the benefits and risks of offering mindfulness training in the workplace; these form the business case for bringing mindfulness to the workforce and identify the gaps in the research that prompted the questions underlying this thesis. These gaps were …

Leader Mindfulness And Employee Performance: A Sequential Mediation Model Of Lmx Quality, Interpersonal Justice, And Employee Stress, Jochen Reb, Sankalp Chaturvedi, Jayanth Narayanan, Ravi S. Kudesia

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In the present research, we examine the relation between leader mindfulness and employee performance through the lenses of organizational justice and leader-member relations. We hypothesize that employees of more mindful leaders view their relations as being of higher leader-member exchange (LMX) quality. We further hypothesize two mediating mechanisms of this relation: increased interpersonal justice and reduced employee stress. In other words, we posit that employees of more mindful leaders feel treated with greater respect and experience less stress. Finally, we predict that LMX quality serves as a mediator linking leader mindfulness to employee performance—defined in terms of both in-role and …

Technology-Aided Meditation At Work: Evaluating The Impact Of Biofeedback On A Mindfulness Program In The Workplace, Charles Morris

Mindfulness Studies Theses

The rise of secular mindfulness has been buoyed in large part by scientific research into its benefits. The availability of consumer-grade biofeedback devices promises to bring the objectivity of results seen in a research lab to personal experience. This mixed methods study examined the experience of 12 participants in a workplace mindfulness program, comparing the experience of an experimental group whose meditation practice was supported with the use of a HeartMath™ Inner Balance device to a control group who learned to meditate without it. The effects on stress, focus and motivation were captured via questionnaire, along with biofeedback data and …

The Way Of The Servant Citizen: Building, Mindfulness And Reverence For Work (Bmw): A Thematic Synthesis Of Servant Attributes From Servant Leadership, Organizational Citizenship Behavior And The Servanthood Of Jesus, Ramon Ma. Nicolas V. Molano

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

The servant-first is central in writings on servant leadership and the biblical Jesus on becoming servants. A servant-first on its own volition seeks to serve, and to serve first the welfare of others before their own, and it does not necessarily hold a formal leadership position. The study introduces the term servant citizen to refer to one who is servant-first and an ordinary member of community. The study aimed to provide leaders, educators and trainers with teachable content that aids in the formation of servant citizens ─ more than nominal service-providers ─ from organization members. The study’s starting reference was …

Mindfulness At Work: Assessing The Impact Of Practising Mindfulness In The Workplace On Engagement, Wellbeing, Happiness And Positivity, Fiona Peters

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Aim: The purpose of this study carried out in Perth, Western Australia was to examine the effect of mindfulness training on workers in a university setting, by assessing the impact of mindfulness training on their sense of wellbeing, happiness, positivity and level of engagement in their jobs.

Method: Participants (n = 54) were recruited through the Edith Cowan University staff Health and Wellness Program, Live Life Longer and randomly allocated into two groups of 27. Both groups were invited to take part in 6 weeks of mindfulness training with staggered starts, group 2 began once group 1 had completed the …

The Mediating Role Of Emotional Exhaustion In The Relationship Of Mindfulness With Turnover Intentions And Job Performance, Jochen Reb, Jayanth Narayanan, Sankalp Chaturvedi, Srinivas Ekkirala

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Mindfulness in the workplace has emerged as a legitimate and growing area of organizational scholarship. The present research examined the role of employee emotional exhaustion in mediating the relationship of mindfulness with turnover intentions and task performance. Drawing on theory and empirical research on both organizational behavior and mindfulness, we predicted that more mindful employees would show lower turnover intentions and higher task performance and that these relationships would be mediated by emotional exhaustion. We tested these hypotheses in two field studies in an Indian context. Study 1 was a field study of call center employees of a multinational organization, …

Exploring The Utility Of Mindfulness And Self-Regulation Assignments For Business Students, Michael T. Roberson

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

There are a number of personal habits, disciplines, and activities that are associated with success for both college students and business professionals. Goal-setting, concentration and focus, and the ability to delay gratification have long been known to be key factors. More recent research has shown that mindfulness, self-assessment, and self-regulation are also important to success. However, today’s world poses serious, new challenges to the student or professional who wishes to think and learn effectively and to achieve his/her goals.

Previously, a Learning Academy was created to lead volunteer students through a series of self-assessments, worksheet exercises, personal reflections, and group …

Contemplating Mindfulness At Work: An Integrative Review, Christopher Lyddy, Darren J. Good, Theresa M. Glomb, Joyce E. Bono, Kirk W. Brown, Michelle K. Duffy, Ruth A. Baer, Judson A. Brewer, Sara W. Lazar

School of Business Faculty Publications

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 …

Leading Mindfully: Two Studies Of The Influence Of Supervisor Trait Mindfulness On Employee Well-Being And Performance, Jochen Reb, Jayanth Narayanan, Sankalp Chaturvedi

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This research examines the influence of leaders’ mindfulness on employee well-being and performance. We hypothesized that supervisors’ trait mindfulness is positively associated with different facets of employee well-being, such as job satisfaction and need satisfaction, and different dimensions of employee performance, such as in-role performance and organizational citizenship behaviors. We also explored whether one measure of employee well-being, psychological need satisfaction, plays a mediating role in the relation between supervisor mindfulness and employee performance. We tested these predictions in two studies using data from both supervisors and their subordinates. Results were consistent with our hypotheses. Overall, this research contributes to …

The Role Of Mindfulness And Psychological Capital On The Well-Being Of Leaders, Maree Roche, Jarrod M. Haar, Fred Luthans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

In today’s highly competitive and extremely complex global economy, organizational leaders at all levels are facing unprecedented challenges. Yet, some seem to be handling the pressure better than others. Utilizing 4 samples of CEOs/presidents/top (n = 205), middle (n = 183), and junior (n = 202) managers, as well as 107 entrepreneurs, using Structural Equation Modeling we tested the direct effect that their level of mindfulness (heightened awareness) and the mediating effect of their psych logical capital (i.e., hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism) may have on their mental well-being. In all 4 samples, mindfulness was found to be negatively related …