Mechanisms of Organizational Mindfulness on Employee Well-Being and Engagement: A Multi-Level Analysis

Abstract

This article investigates the currently limited multidisciplinary research front in emerging areas of mindfulness practice, employee well-being, and engagement. This evidence-based study aims to explore multifaceted mechanisms on how an organizational mindfulness development may affect well-being and engagement at multiple levels. This study employed a qualitative case study research design using Nvivo 12 software for a data analysis. The job demand–resource (JD-R) model was adopted as a theoretical framework. In-depth interview data were collected from diverse multi-stakeholders, including management and employees, in a Thai manufacturing company. Our findings uncover that the organizational mindfulness program can improve employee’s psychological capital, emotional intelligence, and perceived resources, and alleviate perceived demands. The result implies the importance of the mindfulness practice since it can support well-being and engagement at multiple levels, specifically from individual work and a collective team of colleagues, and toward enhanced organizational performance. Our proposed emergent model also advances the JD-R theoretical framework, by adding mindfulness and emotional intelligence as essential components to enhance engagements at three levels (i.e., work, team, and organizational engagement). Overall, the result critically provides the theoretical development and insightful managerial implications for professional and organizational development.