Mindfulness and work engagement: the role of self-acceptance and stress

Rationale: The role of mindfulness in the work place is an area of increasing interest. Mindfulness has its roots in religious practice and is particularly associated with Buddhism. In the past 30 years, it has been developed independently, away from religion, into interventions designed to reduce stress and improve well-being. Clinical psychologists are in an ideal position to research the impact of mindfulness for employees and employers. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between mindfulness and work engagement and to examine whether self-acceptance and stress mediate the relationship between these two constructs. Design: The study utilised a cross sectional design. Participants were employees who worked a minimum of 30 hours and lived in the UK. Three hundred and thirty nine participants completed measures of mindfulness, self-acceptance, stress and work engagement as well as demographic characteristics through an online survey. Results: Significant positive correlations were found between all three different aspects of work engagement (absorption, vigour and dedication) and all five aspects of mindfulness (acting with awareness, observing, describing, non-judgement of inner experience and non-reactivity). The effect size for overall mindfulness with vigour and dedication was medium to large, whilst the overall effect size for mindfulness with absorption was small to medium. The observe subscale of the mindfulness measure showed the lowest effect sizes with all of the engagement subscales, whilst acting with awareness showed the largest effect size. Overall mindfulness scores significantly predicted overall work engagement scores. Stress was found to mediate this relationship, whilst self-acceptance did not. Conclusions and Implications: Higher levels of mindfulness were associated with higher levels of work engagement through lower levels of stress. Although clinical psychologists traditionally work in healthcare settings, this study highlights the importance of studying psychological phenomena in non-clinical populations. Key Words Mindfulness, Self-Acceptance, Stress, Work Engagement.