Mindfulness as a Personal Resource: Testing Emotional, Cognitive, and Motivational Connections to Burnout and Work Engagement

Keywords: Mindfulness, surface acting, workload, task significance, burnout, work engagement

Abstract: Dispositional mindfulness has been theorized as a personal resource in the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework. However, this proposition has drawn minimal empirical investigation, masking if and how mindfulness influences burnout and work engagement. We develop and test a theoretical model for how mindfulness may benefit both burnout and work engagement by predicting job demands and job resources, Specifically, we theorize three mediating paths – emotional, cognitive, and motivational – between mindfulness and JD-R outcomes. In a cross-lagged two-wave field study of employees at four organizations, we found support for these relationships. More mindful individuals reported lower burnout and higher work engagement, relationships mediated through reported job demands (i.e., surface acting, workload) and job resources (i.e., task significance). These findings support the proposition that mindfulness acts as a personal resource that simultaneously benefits multiple outcomes. We conclude by discussing the research and practical implications of these results regarding mindfulness at work.