The effects of employee mindfulness on spouse family satisfaction and work engagement

Abstract

Based on conservation of resources (COR) theory, this paper examines how and when employee mindfulness influences spouse family satisfaction and work engagement. It proposes that employee mindfulness as an important resource is positively related to spouse family satisfaction and work engagement by strategic emotional connecting display. Meanwhile, COR theory suggests that threats to resources would urge individuals to protect rather than consume the remaining resources. Thus, this study considers spouse family negative emotional expression as a moderator in the relationship between employee mindfulness and employee strategic emotional connecting display. We collected data from front-line employees in a commercial bank in Northern China and their spouses by experience sampling methodology. At Time 1 (one week before the start of the daily surveys), we invited 129 front-line employees to offer demographic information. We also asked their spouses to provide demographic information and rate the variable at the between-person level (i.e., family negative emotional expression). During 10 workdays, we invited participants to rate the variables at the within-person level. At 9 a.m., spouses received a link to assess their work engagement. At 8:30 p.m., employees and their spouses received a link respectively. Employees rated their mindfulness and strategic emotional connecting display, and spouses were asked to rate their family satisfaction. The final valid sample consisted of 114 employees and 114 their spouses. Mplus 8.0 and the bootstrap technique were used to test our hypotheses. As hypothesized, our study found that employee mindfulness was positively and significantly related to employee strategic emotional connecting display. Employee strategic emotional connecting display was positively and significantly associated with spouse family satisfaction and work engagement in the next morning. Additionally, employee strategic emotional connecting display mediated the effects of employee mindfulness on spouse family satisfaction and spouse work engagement in the next morning. Moreover, spouse family negative emotional expression moderated the positive relationship between employee mindfulness and employee strategic emotional connecting display. That is, when spouse family negative emotional expression was higher rather than lower, the positive relationship between employee mindfulness and employee strategic emotional connecting display was weakened. The moderated mediation model