Trait mindfulness and its dimensions as personal resources in the job demands-resources theory of work-related stress and motivation

This thesis presents three empirical studies designed to examine trait mindfulness and its five facets as personal resources in the job demands-resources (JD-R) theory which highlights importance of workplace characteristics in relation to employee health and well-being. Study 1 hypothesised that mindfulness would buffer negative effects of high-strain jobs on job burnout and boost positive effects of active jobs on employee engagement at both within- and between person level. A sample of 144 employees completed online diaries twice daily recording 1083 diary entries over five working days. Results of multilevel moderation analyses to disentangle the episodic and more enduring effects at the within- and between-person level supported the buffering role of trait mindfulness in the energy erosion process at the between-person level but not at the within-person level. A more complex pattern of results emerged with respect to the motivation process suggesting that mindfulness boosted work engagement but only in jobs with high control and manageable demands at the between-person level. Study 2 conducted a follow-up examination of awareness and acceptance dimensions of trait mindfulness with respect to the moderating effect of mindfulness in the energy erosion and motivation processes of the JD-R using the same sample as study 1. First, a set of confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the five-factor correlated model of mindfulness yielded better fit than alternative higher-order factor structures of trait mindfulness proposed in the literature and the subsequent study analyses therefore proceeded at the facet level. Next, results of multilevel analyses revealed that the observe facet enhanced the within-person reactivity to high-strain episodes which was associated with an episodic drop in work engagement (but not higher burnout). While the acceptance dimension (nonjudgment and non-reactivity facets) together with acting with awareness carried the buffering effects at the between-person level. Moreover, trait non-reactivity facet was found to directly predict both burnout and work engagement at the between-person level over and above the influence of workload demands, job control and trait negative affectivity. The third empirical study then examined trait mindfulness and its dimensions of mindful awareness and acceptance with respect to work-related worry/rumination as an active mechanism in the energy erosion and motivation processes of the JD-R theory. The main aim was to examine whether more mindful employees worried less when faced with high job demands or whether they were less vulnerable to the detrimental effects of worry with respect to emotional exhaustion and work engagement. A sample of 173 employees completed weekly diary surveys over three weeks recording a total of 479 weekly diary entries. Results of multilevel path analyses supported the mediating role of work-related worry / rumination in the energy erosion (but not motivation) process of the JD-R at the between-person level. Multilevel moderation analyses supported the buffering role of trait mindfulness in the relationship between job demands and work-related worry / rumination at the between-person level. Again, a more complex pattern of results emerged at the facet level