Universal Panacea or Organizational Fad? The Role of Context on the Effectiveness of Mindfulness

Abstract

In the light of the increasing popularity and indiscriminate implementation of mindfulness in Western organizations concerns have been raised about mindfulness being perceived as a ‘universal cure’. Consequently, we consider whether effectiveness of mindfulness is influenced by context. We examine mindfulness in self-managed teams which is an increasingly common and complex way of organizing work that may affect the well-being of team members. Specifically, we develop a multilevel model to examine how team trust influences the relationship between mindfulness, emotional exhaustion, and team member well-being. We test these relationships in a time-lagged, multi-source, survey study that involved 274 participants in 54 project teams. Our results support the proposition that mindfulness is effective in increasing affective well-being by reducing emotional exhaustion, however, we also find that it is not a ‘universal cure’ in that individuals in positive team contexts benefit less from mindfulness because they do not experience the negative interactions that prompt negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that mindfulness can address.