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The effects of mindfulness meditation training on multitasking in a high-stress information environment
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We describe an experiment to determine the effects of meditation training on the multitasking behavior of knowledge workers. Three groups each of 12-15 human resources personnel were tested: (1) those who underwent an 8-week training course on mindfulness-based meditation, (2) those who endured a wait period, were tested, and then underwent the same 8-week training, and (3) those who had 8-weeks of training in body relaxation. We found that only those trained in meditation stayed on tasks longer and made fewer task switches, as well as reporting less negative emotion after task performance, as compared with the other two groups. In addition, both the meditation and the relaxation groups showed improved memory for the tasks they performed.
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... Geoffrey W. Melville, et al. (2012 reported that meditation performed in the office can acutely improve several physiological and psychological markers of stress.These effects may be at least partially mediated by reduced respiration rate. David M.Levy et al..(2012) reported that less negative emotion after task performance, as compared with the other two groups. In addition, both the meditation and the relaxation groups showed improved memory for the tasks theyRevati C. Deshpande (2012) shows that Meditation techniques and humor techniques of stress management, where even on any one technique the research can be done. ...
... Geoffrey W.Melville, et al. (2012) reported that meditation performed in the office can acutely improve several physiological and psychological markers of stress. These effects may be at least partially mediated by reduced respiration rate.David M.Levy et al..(2012) reported that less nega tive emotion after task performance, as compared with the other two groups. In addition, both the meditation and the relaxation groups showed improved memory for the tasks theyRevati C. Deshpande (2012) shows that Meditation techniques and humor techniques of stress management, where even on any one technique the research can be done. ...
The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy hypnosis and meditation to impact of stress among media industrial employees. The study conducted on a sample of 120 (Hypnosis=60 and Meditation=60) media industrial employees of Chittor district, Andhra Pradesh. In order to realize the objective of the study, Two hypothesis were formulated. (1) There would be significant impact of meditation on stress among media industrial employees with regard pre test and post test.(2)There would be significant impact of hypnosis on stress among media industrial employees with regard pre test and post test. Occupational stress index developed by A.K.Srivatsava and A.P.Singh (1984) was administered to the sample. There age range from 25 to 55 years. Data was analyzed using Means, SD'S and t values. Results show that mediation and hypnosis training reduce the stress among Media Industrial employees, and implications were drawn.
... Moreover, as two important aspects for the adaptiveness of ERF, situations, and goals have been found to be associated with individuals' task-switching ability. For example, several studies found individuals with low task-switching ability are more likely to feel stress and experience anxiety in changing situations, which reduces people's behavioral performance and emotional experience (Edwards et al., 2015;Levy et al., 2012). In addition, researchers also found that task-switching difficulties interfere with the goal-pursuit process and prevent people from monitoring their ongoing tasks and outcomes, which finally leads to a disrupted sense of control and increased helplessness, as well as negative emotions (Plessow et al., 2011;Toh & Yang, 2023). ...
Emotion regulation flexibility (ERF) refers to one's ability to respond flexibly in complex environments. Adaptiveness of ERF has been associated with cognitive flexibility, which can be improved by task-switching training. However, the impact of task-switching training on ERF and its underlying neural mechanisms remains unclear. To address this issue, we examined the effects of training on individuals' adaptiveness of ERF by assessing altered brain network patterns. Two groups of participants completed behavioral experiments and resting-state fMRI before and after training. Behavioral results showed higher adaptiveness scores and network analysis observed a higher number of connectivity edges, in the training group compared to the control group. Moreover, we found decreased connectivity strength within the default mode Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/scan/advance-article/doi/10.1093/scan/nsae077/7906912 by guest on 23 November 2024 2 network (DMN) and increased connectivity strength within the frontoparietal network (FPN) in the training group. Furthermore, the task-switch training also led to decreased DMN-FPN interconnectivity, which was significantly correlated to increased adaptiveness of ERF scores. These findings suggest that the adaptiveness of ERF can be supported by altered patterns with the brain network through task-switch training, especially the increased network segregation between the DMN and FPN.
... Various studies have emerged on the role of mindfulness in performance (Bernárdez et al., 2022;Dane and Brummel, 2014;Good et al., 2016;Lomas et al., 2017;Mrazek et al., 2013;Ngo et al., 2020;Reb et al., 2019), productivity (Berthon and Pitt, 2019;Kersemaekers et al., 2018;Lomas et al., 2017;Park, 1990;Wrenn, 2020), engagement (Cheung et al., 2020;Goyal and Sharma, 2023;Leroy et al., 2013;Levy et al., 2012;Olano et al., 2015;Pattnaik and Jena, 2020) and leadership (Brendel and Bennett, 2016;Dirk, 2021;Inceoglu et al., 2018;King and Haar, 2017;Sutcliffe et al., 2016;Vogus and Sutcliffe, 2012). ...
Purpose: The study of mindfulness is still shown to be of interest in different aspects of organizations and/or businesses. Therefore, this study aims to present an integrative, multi-level model of mindfulness based on a holistic approach that can contribute to better governance practices and lead to competitive advantages.
Design/methodology/approach: To fulfil this aim, an extensive integrative review of the literature, from the main articles about this topic, was made.
Findings: This study shows that the concept of mindfulness, a conscious presence or full attention and its relation with organisations or firms’ personal, behavioural and social characteristics, in the current context of great adversity, uncertainty and unpredictability, is of interest at the individual, organisational and social level.
Practical implications: This conceptual study has important implications for both practice and theory. It demonstrates that mindfulness significantly impacts the manager/business person’s ecosystem at the individual, organizational and social levels, particularly in relation to sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Originality/value: This study introduces a comprehensive theoretical model that explains this relationship and organizes information from a multi-level perspective. This approach can contribute to the advancement of theory by clarifying and discussing the role of mindfulness at the individual, organizational, and societal levels. It also identifies opportunities and outlines future research directions, aiming to promote more sustainable development.
... Attention is a trainable human faculty [5] and can be used intentionally to build self-awareness [6], improve well-being [7], and enhance stress adaptation [8]. The research provides evidence that certain practices, such as meditation and yoga, can enhance attentional skills, allowing individuals to concentrate more intensely and switch between objects of attention more fluidly [9]. Yoga, in any format, promotes mindfulness and relaxation, which naturally activates the parasympathetic system and relaxation response, contrasting with the fight-or-flight/ sympathetic nervous system [10]. ...
... Attention is a trainable human faculty [5] and can be used intentionally to build self-awareness [6], improve well-being [7], and enhance stress adaptation [8]. The research provides evidence that certain practices, such as meditation and yoga, can enhance attentional skills, allowing individuals to concentrate more intensely and switch between objects of attention more fluidly [9]. Yoga, in any format, promotes mindfulness and relaxation, which naturally activates the parasympathetic system and relaxation response, contrasting with the fight-or-flight/sympathetic nervous system [10]. ...
Thriving employees have a significant societal impact in today's work environment, characterized by complexity and uncertainty. Despite the gaps in understanding what enables thriving individuals, what we know is that attention effectiveness remains a critical predictor of performance and well-being behaviors. Some promising interventions and tools facilitate attention effectiveness and improved performance and well-being, contributing to sustainable employability characterized by thriving employees who proactively and consistently pursue learning and health-related activities beyond mere satisfaction and efficiency. This article emphasizes the importance of creating conditions for a resourceful work climate to attract and retain thriving individuals. It advocates for an agile approach to using and combining different resources in attention effectiveness, such as meditation, yoga, coaching, AI, and vital physical conditions, to facilitate sustainable employability.
... Along with prioritization, focus of attention on one task at a time was found as a strategy when individuals were faced with information overload, situations demanding switching of attention and multitasking at work (techno overload). Our findings concur with previous studies demonstrating that mindfulness can decrease the negative effects of multitasking by increasing the average time that an individual spends on one task (Levy et al., 2012). Moreover, focusing on the IT context, Wolf et al. (2011) have empirically shown that mindful individuals can mitigate the negative consequences of information overload by focusing their attention on the relevant task at hand. ...
Information Technology (IT) has been vastly characterized as a double-edged sword, offering significant benefits to individuals but at the same time bringing certain negative consequences, such as technostress. Technostress can severely affect individuals in the workplace, causing fatigue, loss of motivation, inability to concentrate, dissatisfaction at work and reduced productivity among others; thus significantly affecting individual well-being work as well as increasing costs for organisations. Recently, studies have shown the beneficial role of mindfulness in reducing technostress experiences of individuals; however, the evidence that exists until today is very limited, and mostly focused on evaluating the impact of mindfulness on technostress and its negative consequences. As the current research stands, at the moment it is relatively unknown how mindfulness affects the underlying mechanisms of technostress experiences of individuals. Through semi-structured interviews with 10 knowledge workers, the current study explores how mindfulness alleviates technostress within the workplace, by investigating the experiences of more mindful employees and learning from their practices. Findings offer a deeper insight into the relationship of mindfulness and technostress, revealing a toolkit of the underlying strategies that more mindful and IT mindful individuals deploy as well as their perceptions during technostress experiences at work thus shedding light on the path between mindfulness and technostress. The study contributes both to academia and practice, offering important implications to managers and practitioners that strive to improve employee well-being within organisations.
... Werken met aandacht In deze eerste bouwsteen (voormiddag, eerste dag) was er aandacht voor op wetenschappelijk onderzoek gebaseerde aandachtsvaardigheden. De uitwerking was gebaseerd op inzichten met betrekking tot: a. Multitasken en afleiding (zie bijv.Adler & Benbunan-Fich, 2012;Carrier et al., 2015;Gorman & Green, 2016;Levy et al., 2012;Pikos, 2017;Reinke & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2014;Tigchelaar & De Bos, 2019;Wajcman & Rose, 2011), waaronder effecten van telefoon scrollen tijdens gesprekken door de leidinggevenden(David & Roberts, 2017). b. ...
Deze studie heeft als doel om de effectiviteit van een nieuwe training voor leidinggevenden m.b.t. aandachtige leidercommunicatie te testen. Aandachtige leidercommunicatie verwijst naar "een open, aandachtige houding tijdens een gesprek met een werknemer". De potentiële werkings-mechanismen van de training werden getest door de integratie van de Zelf-Determinatie Theorie en Kahn's psychologische voorwaarden voor bevlogenheid. De training werd longitudinaal getest met twee groepen leidinggevenden (N T1 = 18) uit publieke organisaties en hun medewerkers (N T1 = 129). Doordat de datavergaring tijdens een lockdown met verplicht thuiswerken plaatsvond, werd ook communicatie in de digitale om-geving onderzocht. Data van medewerkers lieten positieve resultaten zien betreffende (tevredenheid met aandachtige) communicatie van leiders, dienend leiderschap, vertrouwen in de leider, en mindfulness in communicatie, hoewel niet bij beide trainingsgroepen. Psycholo-gische behoeftebevrediging medieerde de relatie tussen aandachtige leidercommunicatie en burnout. Kahn's psychologische voorwaarden voor persoonlijke bevlogenheid (beschikbaarheid, betekenisvolheid en veiligheid) medieerden de relatie tussen aandachtige leidercommunicatie en zowel bevlogenheid als burnout. Uit open vragen over de lockdown bleek dat de ervaring van werknemers met betrekking tot thuiswerken varieerde van zeer positief tot extreem negatief. Zij rapporteerden over het algemeen geen effect op het leiderschap van hun leidinggevende, terwijl leiders aangaven dat thuiswerken hun communicatie met werknemers drastisch beïnvloedde.
In recent studies of the structure of affect, positive and negative affect have consistently emerged as two dominant and relatively independent dimensions. A number of mood scales have been created to measure these factors; however, many existing measures are inadequate, showing low reliability or poor convergent or discriminant validity. To fill the need for reliable and valid Positive Affect and Negative Affect scales that are also brief and easy to administer, we developed two 10-item mood scales that comprise the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The scales are shown to be highly internally consistent, largely uncorrelated, and stable at appropriate levels over a 2-month time period. Normative data and factorial and external evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for the scales are also presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Disturbed relationships between human beings lead to an increase of neurotic diseases. Psychotherapy in a higher degree deals with these problems. In a comparison the autogenic training and the progressive relaxation as two therapy methods are tested for their suitability for the therapy of neurosis. The two methods are found suitable in form of a combination treatment to influence positively the personality of the patient for improving a disturbed person-environment-relationship.
Current approaches to accessible computing share a common goal of making technology accessible to users with disabilities. Perhaps because of this goal, they may also share a tendency to centralize disability rather than ability. We present a refinement to these approaches called ability-based design that consists of focusing on ability throughout the design process in an effort to create systems that leverage the full range of human potential. Just as user-centered design shifted the focus of interactive system design from systems to users, ability-based design attempts to shift the focus of accessible design from disability to ability. Although prior approaches to accessible computing may consider users’ abilities to some extent, ability-based design makes ability its central focus. We offer seven ability-based design principles and describe the projects that inspired their formulation. We also present a research agenda for ability-based design.
Author's Note: This article benefited greatly from the many improvements in organization, expression, and content made by Rachel Kaplan, and the many suggestions concerning consistency, clarity, and accuracy made by Terry Hartig. Thanks also to the SESAME group for providing a supportive environment for exploring many of the themes discussed here. The project was funded, in part, by USDA Forest Service, North Central Experiment Station, Urban Forestry Unit Co-operative Agreements. Abstract An analysis of the underlying similarities between the Eastern meditation tradition and attention restoration theory (ART) provides a basis for an expanded framework for studying directed attention. The focus of the analysis is the active role the individual can play in the preservation and recovery of the directed attention capacity. Two complementary strategies are presented which can help individuals more effectively manage their attentional resource. One strategy involves avoiding unnecessary costs in terms of expenditure of directed attention. The other involves enhancing the effect of restorative opportunities. Both strategies are hypothesized to be more effective if one gains generic knowledge, self knowledge and specific skills. The interplay between a more active form of mental involvement and the more passive approach of meditation appear to have far-reaching ramifications for managing directed attention. Research on mental restoration has focused on the role of the environment, and especially the natural environment. Such settings have been shown to reduce both stress and directed attention fatigue (DAF) (Hartig & Evans, 1993). Far less emphasis, however, has been placed on the possibility of active participation by the individual in need of recovery. A major purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of this mostly neglected component of the restorative process.