In this study, we draw upon Laclau’s notion of the ‘empty signifier’ to argue that mindfulness programs work to encode oppositional organizational elements, drawing on competing discourses that shape, in practice, how mindfulness evolves within organizations. While impact studies have focused on effects of mindfulness programs on employees, how such programs are implemented by trainers, managers, and employees and how the mindfulness concept operates within organizations are not well understood. The rapid emergence of mindfulness programs within organizational settings reflects an amalgam of humanistic, spiritual, and managerial perspectives. In addition, as few studies on mindfulness in African contexts have been performed, this study broadens the research contexts in which mindfulness is understood.
It points to the value of broader measures of mindfulness that capture attitudinal dimensions. This study highlights how different methods of operationalising mindfulness can lead to different conclusions. Originality/value: This study is original in examining the relationship between mindfulness and individual adaptability in the workplace. The findings suggest it may be possible to enhance individual adaptability through Mindfulness-Based Interventions and thus support adaptive performance. Practical implications: This study demonstrates that mindfulness is not simply a stress management skill but is correlated with key aspects of adaptability such as learning and problem-solving. Interpersonal and cultural adaptability were not found to correlate with mindfulness. These data were then analysed to test the hypotheses developed.įindings/results: A significant positive relationship was found between mindfulness and five dimensions of adaptability (work-stress adaptability, uncertainty adaptability, crisis adaptability, creative problem-solving adaptability and learning adaptability). Addressing this gap, the study hypothesised a link between mindfulness and individual adaptability in dynamic work contexts.ĭesign/methodology/approach: One hundred and ninety-eight individuals in dynamic work contexts completed a self-rating survey that measured mindfulness and a multifactor measure of individual adaptability. Mindfulness has been demonstrated to improve dimensions of performance and well-being in the workplace, but the underlying mechanisms of this relationship are not well understood. This is an increasingly important performance dimension in dynamic contexts. Purpose: Individual adaptability has been proposed as a source of adaptive performance. In order to guide such a progression, this paper presents a Wheel of Mindfulness model that captures the different, and inevitably selective, lenses on mindfulness, and provides a generative framework for exploring and building on sources of controversy and debate. Secondly, it highlights the value of extending the range and depth of Buddhist-derived interventions beyond such programs and most importantly, also capturing and exploring the value of critical and collective approaches to mindfulness that derive from other traditions and schools of thought. Firstly, it acknowledges the contribution of first-generation psychological-therapeutic programs. The purpose of this paper is to build on this work in two ways. Second-generation mindfulness interventions in leadership are defined as going beyond views of mindfulness as a means to reduce the stress inherent in continual change, and as instrumental support for organizational performance in an economy of attention. Distinguishing between first-generation and second-generation mindfulness-based initiatives has been a useful and positive response to this uncertainty and controversy. The field of mindfulness research and programs, in the workplace and elsewhere, has been a matter of considerable ambiguity and contestation.
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