Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
12-2020
Abstract
We examine whether mindfulness can neutralize the negative impact of COVID-19 stressors on employees' sleep duration and work engagement. In Study 1, we conducted a field experiment in Wuhan, China during the lockdown between February 20, 2020, and March 2, 2020, in which we induced state mindfulness by randomly assigning participants to either a daily mindfulness practice or a daily mind-wandering practice. Results showed that the sleep duration of participants in the mindfulness condition, compared with the control condition, was less impacted by COVID-19 stressors (i.e., the increase of infections in the community). In Study 2, in a 10-day daily diary study in the United Kingdom between June 8, 2020, and June 19, 2020, we replicate our results from Study 1 using a subjective measure of COVID-19 stressors and a daily measure of state mindfulness. In addition, we find that mindfulness buffers the negative effect of COVID-19 stressors on work engagement mediated by sleep duration. As the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing and the number of reported cases continues to rise globally, our findings suggest that mindfulness is an evidence-based practice that can effectively neutralize the negative effect of COVID-19 stressors on sleep and work outcomes. The findings of the present study contribute to the employee stress and well-being literature as well as the emerging organizational research on mindfulness.
Keywords
Mindfulness, COVID-19 stressors, employee sleep, work engagement, organizational behavior, pandemics
Discipline
Applied Behavior Analysis | Industrial and Organizational Psychology | Public Health
Publication
Frontiers in Psychology
Volume
11
First Page
1
Last Page
13
ISSN
1664-1078
Identifier
10.3389/fpsyg.2020.610156
Publisher
Frontiers Media
Embargo Period
7-1-2021
Citation
ZHENG, Michelle Xue; MASTERS-WAAGE, Theodore Charles; YAO, Jingxian; LU, Yichen; TAN, Noriko; and NARAYANAN, Jayanth.
Stay mindful and carry on: Mindfulness neutralizes COVID-19 stressors on work engagement via sleep duration. (2020). Frontiers in Psychology. 11, 1-13.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/6727
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.610156
Included in
Applied Behavior Analysis Commons, Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons, Public Health Commons