Mindfulness Practice and Work Performance: The Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence and Psychological Capital.
Hoang Cuu Long, Ho Minh An, Pham Thi Phuong Dung, Nguyen Le Dinh Quy
Brain and Behavior 2025 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.70291 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 263 |
| Population | Office employees in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Emotional intelligence Job performance Mindfulness‐to‐meaning mtm Psychological capital |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key findings | Mindfulness has a direct positive influence on job performance, and emotional intelligence partially mediates this relationship with a greater indirect effect than direct effect. |
Abstract
The practice of mindfulness is becoming more widespread among employees, with potential benefits for workplace outcomes. However, there is a paucity of research on the mechanisms linking mindfulness to job performance. This study investigated the mediating functions of emotional intelligence and psychological capital in the relationship between mindfulness and job performance among 263 office employees in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The "mindfulness-to-meaning" viewpoint posits that through the practice of mindfulness, people are able to transcend negative emotions, gain a deeper understanding of themselves, and progress more intentionally by living more consciously in the present moment. Participants completed questionnaires measuring mindfulness, emotional intelligence, psychological capital, and occupational performance. According to the results of structural equation modeling, mindfulness has a direct positive influence on job performance. In addition, emotional intelligence partially mediated the relationship between mindfulness and performance, as evidenced by a greater indirect effect than direct effect. However, the indirect effect via psychological capital was less significant than the direct effect of mindfulness. These findings identify emotional intelligence as a key personal resource that transmits the positive effects of mindfulness on workplace performance. The results advance comprehension of intermediary pathways in mindfulness research grounded in the resource-based view. Integrating emotional intelligence training into mindfulness programs could increase employee productivity in organizations.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cites 6
- Contemplating Mindfulness at Work Journal of Management November 19, 2015
- The association of mindfulness and psychological well-being among individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 in Jianghan District, Wuhan, China: A cross-sectional study Journal of Affective Disorders September 23, 2022
- Enhanced electroencephalography effective connectivity in frontal low-gamma band correlates of emotional regulation after mindfulness training. Journal of Neuroscience Research June 1, 2023
- The Effect of Trait Mindfulness on Teachers' Emotional Exhaustion: The Chain Mediating Role of Psychological Capital and Job Engagement. Healthcare November 9, 2021
- Workplace mindfulness: An integrative review of antecedents, mediators, and moderators Human Resource Management Review June 1, 2021
and 1 more in the library