Does mindfulness help employees express ethical voice? a moderated mediation model of mindfulness and ethical voice
Kaixin Zhang, Zilong Cui
BMC Psychology February 26, 2026 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-04206-0 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Longitudinal field study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 453 |
| Population | Employees from one Chinese firm |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Employee mindfulness had a positive effect on ethical voice, mediated by moral self-efficacy and moral courage. A caring ethical climate strengthened the relationship between mindfulness and ethical voice through those two mediators. The authors argue these findings address a gap in research on the individual psychological mechanisms underlying ethical voice. |
Abstract
Following a series of major ethical scandals in various organizations, researchers have increasingly sought to understand the role of ethical voice in the workplace. Existing ethical voice research centres on leadership-focused models and overlooks the individual psychological mechanisms connecting traits to ethical voice, creating a key gap in understanding the micro-foundations of such behaviour. The results of a longitudinal field study featuring 453 participants from one Chinese firm were used to investigate the model hypothesized in this research. The results reveal that employee mindfulness has a positive effect on ethical voice via moral self-efficacy and moral courage. Moreover, a caring ethical climate strengthens the relationship between mindfulness and ethical voice via moral self-efficacy and moral courage. The findings of this study contribute to the literature on both mindfulness and ethical voice. The findings of this research also have important practical implications for organizations, which can enable them to develop more appropriate human resource management strategies that can promote ethical voice in the workplace; these findings also offer guidance regarding how to manage this entire process effectively.
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
Cites 5
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Addressing Fundamental Questions About Mindfulness Psychological Inquiry October 19, 2007
- Brief mindfulness session improves mood and increases salivary oxytocin in psychology students. Stress and Health October 1, 2020
- Component Processes of Executive Function-Mindfulness, Self-control, and Working Memory-and Their Relationships with Mental and Behavioral Health. Mindfulness September 1, 2011