Job design for mindful work: The boosting effect of psychosocial safety climate.
Emily J Lawrie, Michelle R Tuckey, Maureen F Dollard
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology December 28, 2017 DOI: 10.1037/ocp0000102 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational diary study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 57 |
| Population | Employees primarily working in education, health care, and finance |
| Duration | 5-day diary within a 2-week period |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Humans Stress, psychological Adult Middle aged Occupational health Workplace Organizational culture Female Surveys and questionnaires |
| Key findings | Daily psychological demands were negatively related to daily mindfulness, and daily job control was positively related to daily mindfulness, especially as psychosocial safety climate increased. Daily mindfulness was positively associated with daily workplace learning. The authors suggest jobs need manageable demands and task variety for everyday mindfulness, and that mindfulness interventions may not be sustainable without employee influence over when and how they work. |
Abstract
Despite a surge in workplace mindfulness research, virtually nothing is known about how organizations can cultivate everyday mindfulness at work. Using the extended job demands-resources model, we explored daily psychological demands and job control as potential antecedents of daily mindfulness, and the moderating effect of psychosocial safety climate (PSC, which relates to the value organizations place on psychological health at work). We also examined the relationship between mindfulness and learning to augment understanding of the benefits of everyday mindfulness at work. A sample of 57 employees, primarily working in education, health care, and finance, completed a diary for five days within a 2-week period, covering mindfulness, psychological demands, job control, and learning. PSC was measured in a baseline survey, with individual ratings combined with those of up to four colleagues to tap objective (shared) climate. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that daily psychological demands were negatively related to daily mindfulness, and daily job control was positively related to daily mindfulness especially as PSC increased. Additionally, daily mindfulness was positively associated with daily workplace learning. This study is one of the first to identify work-related antecedents to everyday mindfulness. The findings suggest that (a) to support everyday mindfulness at work, jobs must be designed with manageable demands and a variety of tasks that allow for creativity and skill discretion, and (b) the benefits of mindfulness interventions for employee psychological health and well-being may not be sustainable unless employees have influence over when and how they do their work, in the "right" climate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- “I Think Mindfulness Might Be a Good Tool, But…”—A Qualitative Study of Employees’ Perceptions of the Implementation of a Forthcoming Workplace-Adapted Mindfulness-Based Intervention Mindfulness August 21, 2026
- Contextualizing Mindfulness at Work: Strengthening the Scientific Evidence Journal of Organizational Behavior July 12, 2026
- Workplace mindfulness: An integrative review of antecedents, mediators, and moderators Human Resource Management Review June 1, 2021
Cites 12
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine May 1, 2009
- The toronto mindfulness scale: Development and validation Journal of Clinical Psychology 2006
- Contemplating Mindfulness at Work Journal of Management November 19, 2015
- Mental Training Affects Distribution of Limited Brain Resources PLoS Biology May 4, 2007
and 7 more in the library