Contextualizing Mindfulness at Work: Strengthening the Scientific Evidence

Abstract

Are there benefits to mindfulness in the workplace? The answer is clear. In this Counterpoint to Sajons and Antonakis (in press), we consider the research evidence showing that mindfulness contributes to enhanced workplace well‐being, healthy social dynamics, and job performance. This interdisciplinary mindfulness literature is notable for its rigor and breadth, which bolsters confidence in the workplace value of mindfulness. We propose advancing discourse on the topic by contextualizing mindfulness within organizational scholarship. This important inquiry involves integrating mindfulness with models of organizational cognition and clarifying its workplace antecedents, moderators, and boundary conditions. These additions should narrow the gap between sanguine and skeptical perspectives on mindfulness at work. Taken together, we argue that mindfulness is beneficial, benign, and worthy of sustained scholarly and organizational investment.