Mindfulness at Work

Mindfulness, or intentional involvement with present-moment experiences, has begun to garner the attention of organizational scholars and practitioners in recent years. Finding its roots in the Eastern philosophical tradition of Zen Buddhism, mindfulness first came under Western empirical scrutiny in the early 1980s, when Jon Kabat-Zinn, a clinical psychologist, developed and tested a stress reduction program for medical patients with chronic pain. The program was overwhelmingly successful, and since that time, mindfulness has been associated with myriad beneficial outcomes, including reduced stress and a strengthened immune system, lower blood pressure, improved memory and executive function, and reduced depression and anxiety. Initial evidence suggests similar salutary effects of mindfulness within the workplace for employee health and well-being, employee engagement and performance, and also leadership effectiveness.

Mindfulness has ...