The Hidden Effects of Mindfulness on Performance
“Mindfulness and positive activities at work: Intervention effects on motivation-related constructs, sleep quality”
Alexandra Michel, Clarissa Grob, Annekatrin Hoppe, M. Gloria González-Morales, Anna Steidle and Diedre O’shea (2021)
What are the Researchers interested in?
According to Michel et al., (2021), there is an understudied research topic in the field of Industrial-Organizational Psychology – the effects of positive activity intervention (PAIs) and mindfulness in employees. In order to understand the findings of this research, we have to first identify what PAIs are and what mindfulness activities consist of:
Positive Activity Interventions
Behavioral PAIs: acts that are carried out and are observable (e.g. an act of kindness, a letter of gratitude)
Cognitive PAIs: will aim to promote positive thinking (e.g. identifying personal strengths)
Volitional PAIs: breaking down and reaching one’s ambitions (e.g. writing a letter to your future self)
Mindfulness Activities
Practicing Yoga
The emerging field of Positive Psychology has led researchers and business managers to want to integrate concepts to mitigate negative work-related factors and increase positive work-related factors. Activities developed within this experiment are aimed to be easily integrated into the workday of employees – a realistic way to improve one’s motivation and health. With the combination of both PAIs and mindfulness activities, Michel et al, (2021) aim to assign participants to an intervention. Soon after measuring their work-related factors (work engagement and hope) and health factors (sleep and fatigue), hypothesizing that the group with the intervention will lead to a higher openness for experiences, positive emotions, and broadened motivational resources.
Now that’s out of the way, let’s see how the researchers manufactured an intervention for the experimental group.
What method did they use?
Participants in the experimental condition were subjected to a self-developed ‘online’ intervention containing three main training modules; alternatively, the control condition did not receive the intervention.
Using effective activities (e.g. Mindfulness-based Therapy, Positive Psychology), the researchers adapted a 3-week program for employees of a firm in Germany. The role of the intervention lies within their natural setting and not in an artificial laboratory (allowing higher external validity!).
Below we have adapted the intervention from the research article to a simple graphic for visualization.
What did they end up finding?
Michel et al., (2021) found that employees who were subjected to the 3-part module intervention had a significantly higher positive affect (emotions, feelings, and thoughts) compared to the control condition. Positive work-related factors such as hope and work engagement were increased as well. Surprisingly, unexpected by researchers, the integration of the intervention increased health factors too. Employees had better sleep quality and less fatigue levels compared to those in the control condition.
Why does this matter for organizations?
Organizations are drastically shifting their strategies towards the well-being and engagement of their human workforce. They are familiar with observing positive effects from high work engagement and satisfaction, specifically its ability to decrease turnover and increase organizational commitment (Michel et al., 2021). Companies should allow mental and physical health to be at the forefront of their business objectives. Further research should also look into other interventions that can produce similar effects, perhaps the integration of fitness activities – running, yoga, etc. as an alternative form of mindfulness (e.g. active mindfulness).
In light of the lifestyle shifts due to the pandemic, organizations have began to shift their focus on adapting their mission to include worker’s physical and mental health. In the near future, it will be of no surprise to have clinical psychology play a bigger role in IO psychology. Allowing companies to diminish the chances of employees suffering from work-related stress (e.g. depression, burnout).
References
Michel, A., Groß, C., Hoppe, A., González‐Morales, M. G., Steidle, A., & O’Shea, D. Mindfulness and positive activities at work: Intervention affects motivation‐related constructs, sleep quality, and fatigue. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.