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Evaluation of a Brief Mindfulness-Based Intervention to Reduce Psychological Distress in the Workplace
Abstract
Employees of a call center working for a financial
institution took part in a brief mindfulness-based intervention
(MBI). Each day, during five consecutive weeks, they listened
to two short guided meditation sessions using a headset at
their workstation (10 min in the morning and 5 min after
lunch). A pretest-post-test switching-replication design was
used to assess changes in mindfulness, psychological distress,
and client satisfaction over the course of the intervention.
During the first portion of the study, group 1 (n=18) acted
as the intervention group while group 2 (n=25) acted as the
control group. During the second portion, the intervention was
replicated, and the roles of the two groups were switched.
Data were collected using self-report questionnaires at baseline
(t1), week 6 (t2), and week 11 (t3) and examined using
both analysis of variance and prediction analysis. The results
showed that mindfulness increased while psychological distress
(stress, anxiety/depression, fatigue, and negative affect)
decreased for all employees throughout the intervention, especially
among those with low mindfulness scores at baseline.
The satisfaction level of the employees’ internal clients significantly
increased over time, although the effect size was
small. This article contributes to the field of mindfulness at
work by (1) introducing a novel MBI specifically designed for
call centers, (2) assessing the impact of the intervention on
client satisfaction, and (3) doing so using a research design
and a statistical technique which have never been used in
mindfulness studies.
... The results align with DiGirolamo and Tkach's (2019) emphasis on self-awareness and goal setting as crucial components of youth leadership programs, reinforcing their significance in fostering leadership qualities 38) . Additionally, the study's findings are compared with Grégoire and Lachance's (2015) work on the positive effects of self-awareness in leadership 39) . While both studies underscore the importance of self-awareness, this study identifies specific aspects of self-awareness particularly goal-setting and self-reflection that were more impactful in fostering leadership skills among participants ...
... In particular, the last decade has seen significant interest in applying mindfulness in the workplace (SeeVonderlin et al. 2020 for a meta-analysis). Findings suggest that mindfulness reduces stress (Aikens et al. 2014;Pang and Ruch 2019;Rudaz et al. 2017), burnout (Anderson et al. 1999;Luken and Sammons 2016) and mental distress (Grégoire and Lachance 2015), and increases job satisfaction (Hülsheger et al. 2013;Pang and Ruch 2019), resilience, social interactions at work (Glomb et al. 2011), flow at work (i.e., the total immersion in a work activity, Bakker 2008;Hohnemann et al. 2024), and work performance (Shao and Skarlicki 2009). By being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present, mindfulness provides employees with a source of intrinsic motivation that lies within the person, allowing them to connect with their inner values and priorities (Schultz and Ryan 2015). ...
Knowledge workers, whose optimal performance necessitates periods of deep, uninterrupted focus, are confronted with significant challenges in today’s work environment. Their roles demand not only uninterrupted focus but also active collaboration and communication with their peers, often through the very digital tools that disrupt their focus. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory, we propose Mindful Co-Working Design (MCD) as an innovative intervention that integrates mindfulness into co-working spaces, along with a set of individual strategies (i.e., managing interruptions, taking regular breaks, and goal setting), to mitigate the negative impacts of these challenges. This study evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of MCD using mixed methods, including quantitative online surveys and qualitative experience reports, with 91 participants (part-time students working alongside their studies) in teams of two to five, randomly assigned to either a mindful co-working condition (n = 44) or a co-working only condition (n = 47). Quantitative results indicated significant improvements in job satisfaction and positive affect, alongside reductions in negative affect and perceived stress in both conditions. Interestingly, while no significant differences emerged between conditions for positive outcomes, the MCD condition was more effective in reducing negative outcomes. Qualitative findings, based on inductive coding of 40 experience reports, further supported these results. Participants reported that MCD diminished stress, enhanced well-being, improved concentration and goal accomplishment, and promoted respectful interactions. These findings highlight the value of MCD in addressing the dual demands of deep work and collaboration, offering actionable strategies for organizations aiming to support the well-being and productivity of knowledge workers.
... As a result, individuals who cultivate dispositional mindfulness often experience improved emotional regulation, reduced stress, and enhanced overall well-being. Research indicates that higher levels of dispositional mindfulness are associated with numerous psychological benefits, such as reduced work-related stress, improved emotional regulation, and enhanced well-being [135][136][137][138]. Research in the literature strongly emphasizes that practicing mindfulness can help reduce technostress [3,98]. ...
Background/Objectives: Information and Communications Technology (ICT) advancements and high customer expectations are boosting the use of digital transformation and tech tools in business processes in a competitive environment. This trend enhances business effectiveness and efficiency but also introduces technostress as a new workplace stress factor. Technostress, defined as stress induced by using ICT in the workplace, has become increasingly prevalent in modern work environments, especially in sectors such as banking, due to digital transformation. As technology use intensifies, it raises concerns about potential adverse psychological and physiological effects on employees, particularly in relation to burnout. From a physiological perspective, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are quite common among employees who use ICT for extended periods. MSDs can play a significant moderating role in the relationship between technostress and burnout. In this context, this study aimed to examine the moderating role of MSDs in the effect of technostress on burnout. Methods: This quantitative study surveyed a convenience sample of 220 bank employees, drawing on COR theory, the JD-R model, the P-E fit approach, and transactional stress theory. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling with SmartPLS 4.0 software, enabling examination of relationships between variables derived from these frameworks. Results: The results reveal that technostress increases bank employees’ burnout experience. Additionally, bank employees with MSDs experience higher burnout levels than those without MSDs. Conclusions: The study’s findings provide valuable insights into managing workplace stress, addressing mental health problems, and promoting employee well-being in the digital age. These results have potential implications for academic understanding and practical applications in sustainable management.
... On the one hand, the studies of Lombas et al. (2015) and Shapiro et al. (2011) showed stronger increases in mindfulness and steeper declines in perceived stress resulting from mindfulness-based interventions when participants' initial mindfulness was high. Grégoire and Lachance (2015), on the other hand, found that especially persons with low mindfulness profited from their intervention, showing higher levels of mindfulness and lower psychological distress. Furthermore, the studies of Sass et al. (2013) and de Vibe et al. (2015) did not find a moderating impact of participants' initial mindfulness. ...
The current study investigated whether teachers' years of working experience and their initial level of mind-fulness, self-care, stress, and emotional exhaustion moderated the effects of a self-care-and mindfulness-based seminar on their stress and emotional exhaustion using a repeated measures design. The analyses of the data from 122 primary, secondary, vocational, and special school teachers (83% female) revealed comparably larger positive effects for teachers with lower initial self-care and mindfulness and higher initial stress and exhaustion levels. However, positive effects were detected across all groups of teachers, indicating mindfulness and self-care to be resources for promoting teachers' mental health.
... While MT-related benefits have been observed with gold standard programs, there may be barriers for implementation related to program time demands, framing, and trainer competencies. As such, more research evaluating the efficacy of shorter, tailored MT programs in applied workplace settings is warranted (see Grégoire and Lachance, 2015). ...
Introduction
Mind wandering, a phenomenon in which attention drifts away from the task-at-hand, is associated with deleterious effects on performance and well-being. As such, efforts to curb mind wandering are warranted. Recently, mindfulness training (MT) has been found to protect against mind wandering. Yet, many MT programs are at risk of falling off the implementation cliff due to challenges implementing these programs in applied settings. To mitigate against this, early-stage research in small convenience samples may be necessary to spur stakeholder engagement and collaboration. Herein, the effects of MT on mind wandering were examined via an internal meta-analysis of early-stage studies of a manualized, context-adaptable short-form MT program, referred to as Mindfulness-Based Attention Training (MBAT).
Methods
Five longitudinal studies (N = 304) were conducted in a variety of organizational cohorts. Self-reported mind wandering and meta-awareness, as well as accuracy (A’) and response time variability (intra-individual coefficient of variation, ICV) during performance of the sustained attention to response task (SART) were assessed at baseline (T1) and 4 weeks later (T2) in MBAT and no-training participants.
Results
Standardized mean change (SMC) from T1 to T2 significantly differed between MBAT and no-training groups for mind wandering (ΔSMC = −0.387, p < 0.001), meta-awareness (ΔSMC = −0.374, p < 0.001), and ICV (ΔSMC = −0.376, p = 0.043), suggesting potential protective effects in self-reported and performance-based metrics of mind wandering.
Discussion
These results serve as preliminary proof-of-concept support for MBAT’s protective effects on mind wandering. Further, they suggest that MBAT is amenable to implementation across a variety of applied and organizational settings and warrants additional research employing larger sample sizes in randomized controlled designs.
This study investigates the relationships of mindfulness with subjective well‐being and psychological well‐being through the mediating role of psychological capital. It also compares the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) and the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) in relation to these outcomes. Using a randomized controlled design, 185 participants from Prolific completed a brief two‐week mindfulness intervention, with one pre‐ and two post‐intervention measures. While the intervention effects were limited, the findings reveal that mindfulness is positively and similarly associated with both SWB and PWB, with stronger indirect links to PWB via PsyCap. While both measures of mindfulness had similar relationships with all outcomes, the multidimensional FFMQ offered additional insights, identifying the “describing” facet as particularly influential for both SWB and PWB, informing new potential paths for theorizing and practice.
Objectives
Workplace psychosocial risk factors, including low autonomy and high demands, have negative consequences for employee mental health and wellbeing. There is a need to support employees experiencing mental health and well-being problems in these jobs. This scoping review aims to describe group-level workplace interventions and their approaches to improving the mental health and well-being of employees in office-based, low autonomy, and high demands jobs.
Methods
Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, a search was conducted across 4 databases (Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ASSIA). We explored studies presenting group-level interventions, mode of implementation, facilitators and barriers, and intervention effectiveness. The search was restricted to include office-based, low autonomy, and high-demands jobs. Primary outcome of interest was mental health and secondary outcomes were work-related and other well-being outcomes.
Results
Group-level workplace interventions include an array of organizational, relational, and individual components. Almost all included a training session or workshop for intervention delivery. Several had manuals but theories of change were rare. Most workplace interventions did not use participatory approaches to involve employees in intervention development, implementation and evaluation, and challenges and facilitators were not commonly reported. Key facilitators were shorter intervention duration, flexible delivery modes, and formalized processes (e.g. manuals). A key barrier was the changeable nature of workplace environments. All studies employing behavioural interventions reported significant improvements in mental health outcomes, while no clear pattern of effectiveness was observed for other outcomes or types of interventions employed.
Conclusions
Group-based interventions in low-autonomy office settings can be effective but few studies used participatory approaches or conducted process evaluations limiting our knowledge of the determinants for successful group-based workplace interventions. Involving stakeholders in intervention development, implementation, and evaluation is recommended and can be beneficial for better articulation of the acceptability and barriers and facilitators for delivery and engagement.
This study explores the evolving landscape of mindfulness interventions in the dynamic realm of Indian corporations, examining strategies adopted by industry leaders like Google, Intel, IBM, and Happiest Minds. The review analyzes the effectiveness of mindfulness techniques in the workplace, emphasizing positive outcomes while acknowledging inherent complexities and challenges. It delves into diverse mindfulness-based interventions, like MBSR and MBCT, and their impact on employee well-being and organizational outcomes. The nuanced perspective considers the multifaceted nature of mindfulness, its roots in diverse religious traditions, and its contemporary secular manifestations within organizational contexts. The study understanding of the intricate interplay between mindfulness, workplace dynamics, and employee mental health. Overall, this research contributes to the growing body of literature on mindfulness in the workplace, shedding light on its evolving role in enhancing holistic employee health and well-being in the context of the fourth industrial revolution.
Stress is ubiquitous in life and creates a need for effective responses in any domain. In this exploratory study, our goal was to understand better how business students learn and use stress management techniques in the classroom context and how this learning applies to different domains. We used thematic coding and textual analysis of weekly student journal reflections about their use of different stress management techniques over 12 weeks. Moving beyond their use of stress techniques in the classroom, students’ comments suggest that their broad use of tools, led to improved well-being (i.e., increased positive affect, reduced stress, and negative affect) beyond the classroom into other life domains. An analysis of student statements further showed increases in their present-focused cognitive orientation, the key dimension of mindfulness, over time. Their heightened present-focused cognitive orientation seems to stem from their practice of the deep breathing stress management technique. Thus, the results suggest that an explicit focus on students’ stress reduction in the classroom may have important implications for how educators can better prepare students for addressing stress and improving psychological and cognitive gains through applied learning across multiple life experiences.
Occupational stress is increasingly recognized as contributing to the deterioration of employees’ productivity and overall performance. Emerging research interest has gained significance in mindfulness in the workplace. Within this body of knowledge, research investigating the effects of mindfulness interventions on employee health and well-being has substantial practical implications for organizations. The current bibliometric study investigates the research landscape of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in the workplace as a breakthrough in occupational stress. The present research study aims to fill the gap in the literature by conducting a scientific and bibliometric mapping of occupational stress in employees, using a methodological trilogy with the application of SMART, Prisma and R bibliometric tools. The analysis focuses on the different trends implanted in using various keywords, authors and journals. A total of N = 642 data consisting of peer-reviewed articles were retrieved from the Scopus database.
Research is carried out based on an average citation of 17.44 per document; the research also shows an average citation of 3.632 per year per document. This study fosters to provide an overview of the trends in journals, popular author keywords, authors and country collaboration with the respective source impact, which helps to provide information for researchers in the field of MBIs at the workplace that will set a futuristic potential to propel further with mindfulness training programmes at workplace, thus mitigating the stress levels and improving the well-being of the employees. Advancing scientific understanding by researching MBIs for occupational stress contributes to the body of knowledge of psychology, organizational behaviour and occupational health.
In recent years, research on mindfulness has burgeoned across several lines of scholarship. Nevertheless, very little empirical research has investigated mindfulness from a workplace perspective. In the study reported here, we address this oversight by examining workplace mindfulness – the degree to which individuals are mindful in their work setting. We hypothesize that, in a dynamic work environment, workplace mindfulness is positively related to job performance and negatively related to turnover intention, and that these relationships account for variance beyond the effects of constructs occupying a similar conceptual space – namely, the constituent dimensions of work engagement (vigor, dedication, and absorption). Testing these claims in a dynamic service industry context, we find support for a positive relationship between workplace mindfulness and job performance that holds even when accounting for all three work engagement dimensions. We also find support for a negative relationship between workplace mindfulness and turnover intention, though this relationship becomes insignificant when accounting for the dimensions of work engagement. We consider the theoretical and practical implications of these findings and highlight a number of avenues for conducting research on mindfulness in the workplace.
Since the original publication of this seminal work, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has come into its own as a widely practiced approach to helping people change. This book provides the definitive statement of ACT—from conceptual and empirical foundations to clinical techniques—written by its originators. ACT is based on the idea that psychological rigidity is a root cause of a wide range of clinical problems. The authors describe effective, innovative ways to cultivate psychological flexibility by detecting and targeting six key processes: defusion, acceptance, attention to the present moment, self-awareness, values, and committed action. Sample therapeutic exercises and patient–therapist dialogues are integrated throughout.
New to This Edition
*Reflects tremendous advances in ACT clinical applications, theory building, and research.
*Psychological flexibility is now the central organizing focus.
*Expanded coverage of mindfulness, the therapeutic relationship, relational learning, and case formulation.
*Restructured to be more clinician friendly and accessible; focuses on the moment-by-moment process of therapy.
This book offers a practical and theoretical guide to the benefits of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in the workplace, describing the latest neuroscience research into the effects of mindfulness training and detailing an eight-week mindfulness training course. Provides techniques which allow people in organizations to listen more attentively, communicate more clearly, manage stress and foster strong relationships. Includes a complete eight-week mindfulness training course, specifically customized for workplace settings, along with further reading and training resources. Written by a mindfulness expert and leading corporate trainer.
The applications and use of mindfulness-based interventions in medicine, mental health care, and education have been expanding as rapidly as the empirical evidence base that is validating and recommending them. This growth has created a powerful demand for professionals who can effectively deliver these interventions, and for the training of new professionals who can enter the fold. Ironically, while the scientific literature on mindfulness has surged, little attention has been paid to the critical who and how of mindfulness pedagogy. Teaching Mindfulness is the first in-depth treatment of the person and skills of the mindfulness teacher. It is intended as a practical guide to the landscape of teaching, to help those with a new or growing interest in mindfulness-based interventions to develop both the personal authenticity and the practical know-how that can make teaching mindfulness a highly rewarding and effective way of working with others. The detail of theory and praxis it contains can also help seasoned mindfulness practitioners and teachers to articulate and understand more clearly their own pedagogical approaches. Engagingly written and enriched with vignettes from actual classes and individual sessions, this unique volume: Places the current mindfulness-based interventions in their cultural and historical context to help clarify language use, and the integration of Eastern and Western spiritual and secular traditions Offers a highly relational understanding of mindfulness practice that supports moment-by-moment work with groups and individuals Provides guidance and materials for a highly experiential exploration of the reader's personal practice, embodiment, and application of mindfulness Describes in detail the four essential skill sets of the mindfulness teacher Proposes a comprehensive, systematic model of the intentions of teaching mindfulness as they are revealed in the mindfulness-based interventions Includes sample scripts for a wide range of mindfulness practices, and an extensive resource section for continued personal and career development Essential for today's practitioners and teachers of mindfulness-based interventions Teaching Mindfulness: A Practical Guide for Clinicians and Educators brings this increasingly important discipline into clearer focus, opening dialogue for physicians, clinical and health psychologists, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, pastoral counselors, spiritual directors, life coaches, organizational development professionals, and teachers and professionals in higher education, in short, everyone with an interest in helping others find their way into the benefits of the present moment. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010. All rights reserved.
• This interview study investigated nonspecific psychological distress in the general population. A probability sample of 200 adults was drawn from heterogenous sex, class, and ethnic groups in New York City. Twenty-five scales were developed. Eight reflect a single dimension of nonspecific distress (eg, Poor Self-esteem, Sadness, and Perceived Physical Health) and 17 are distinct from these and from each other (eg, False Beliefs and Perceptions, Manic Characteristics, Insomnia, Antisocial History, and illness-linked Somatic Problems). Both sets of scales have become part of a new interview instrument, the Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Interview (PERI). Questions are raised about the nature of nonspecific distress in relation to Frank's construct of "demoralization," the value of the measured dimensions of psychopathology that contrast with it, and the relation of PERI, which uses a self-report format, to diagnostic interviews developed here and abroad.
