Mindfulness and Job Performance: Does Creativity Matter?

Abstract

Mindfulness is being fully awake with the here-and-now moment. This study examines the mechanisms through which mindfulness enhances job performance. Specifically, we hypothesise that the relationship between mindfulness and service employees’ job performance is mediated by creative process engagement and employee creativity. Using a sample of 180 full-time employees working at a professional service company, we find that job performance is significantly affected by employee creativity. The mediating effect of creative process engagement and employee creativity on the linkage between mindfulness and job performance is also found to be significant.

Keywords

Mindfulness Creative process engagement Employee creativity Job performance

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Amabile

T. M.

(.1983). The social psychology of creativity: a componential conceptualization. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol., 45(2), 357–376.

Amabile

T. M.

(.1988). A model of creativity and innovation in organizations. Res. Organ. Behav., 10(1), 123–167.

Amabile

T. M.

(.1996). Creativity in Context: Update to the Social Psychology of Creativity: Boulder, CO: Westview Press, Inc.

Amabile

T. M.

,. Barsade

S. G.

,. Mueller

J. S.

,.& Staw

B. M.

(.2005). Affect and creativity at work. Adm. Sci. Q., 50(3), 367–403.

Baer

R. A.

(.2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: a conceptual and empirical review. Clin. Psychol. Sci. Pract., 10(2), 125–143.

Baer

R. A.

,. Smith

G. T.

,. Hopkins

, Krietemeyer

, & Toney

(2006). Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness. Assessment, 13(1), 27–45.

Baird

, Smallwood

, Mrazek

M. D.

,. Kam

J. W.

,. Franklin

M. S.

,.& Schooler

J. W.

(.2012). Inspired by distraction: mind wandering facilitates creative incubation. Psychol. Sci., 23(10), 1117–1122.

Binnewies

, & Wörnlein

S. C.

(.2011). What makes a creative day? A diary study on the interplay between affect, job stressors, and job control. J. Organ. Behav., 32(4), 589–607.

Brown

K. W.

,.& Ryan

R. M.

(.2003). The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol., 84(4), 822–848.

10.

Brown

K. W.

,. Ryan

R. M.

,.& Creswell

J. D.

(.2007). Mindfulness: theoretical foundations and evidence for its salutary effects. Psychol. Inq., 18(4), 211–237.

11.

Carson

S. H.

,.& Langer

E. J.

(.2006). Mindfulness and self-acceptance. J. Ration. Emot. Cognit. Behav. Ther., 24(1), 29–43.

12.

Chiesa

, Calati

, & Serretti

(2011). Does mindfulness training improve cognitive abilities? A systematic review of neuropsychological findings. Clin. Psychol. Rev., 31(3), 449–464.

13.

Chin

W. W.

(.1998)., Commentary: issues and opinion on structural equation modeling. MIS Q., 22(1), vii–xvi.

14.

Colzato

L. S.

,. Szapora

, & Hommel

(2012). Meditate to create: the impact of focused-attention and open-monitoring training on convergent and divergent thinking. Front. Psychol., 3, 1–5.

15.

Drazin

, Glynn

M. A.

,.& Kazanjian

R. K.

(.1999). Multilevel theorizing about creativity in organizations: a sensemaking perspective. Acad. Manag. Rev., 24(2), 286–307.

16.

Edvinsson

, Dvir

, Roth

, & Pasher

(2004). Innovations: the new unit of analysis in the knowledge era: the quest and context for innovation efficiency and management of IC. J. Intellect. Cap., 5(1), 40–58.

17.

Fornell

, & Larcker

D. F.

(.1981). Structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error: algebra and statistics. J. Mark. Res., 18(3), 382–388.

18.

Franco

J. C.

(.2009). Effects of a meditation program on verbal creative levels in a group of students in late secondary education. Suma Psicológica, 16(2), 113–120.

19.

Friedman

R. S.

,.& Förster

(2001). The effects of promotion and prevention cues on creativity. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol., 81(6), 1001–1013.

20.

George

J. M.

,.& Zhou

(2001). When openness to experience and conscientiousness are related to creative behavior: an interactional approach. J. Appl. Psychol., 86(3), 513–524.

21.

George

J. M.

,.& Zhou

(2002). Understanding when bad moods foster creativity and good ones don't: the role of context and clarity of feelings. J. Appl. Psychol., 87(4), 687–697.

22.

Gilson

L. L.

(.2008). Why be creative: a review of the practical outcomes associated with creativity at the individual, group, and organizational levels. In Zhou

& Shalley

C. E.

(Eds.), Handbook of Organizational Creativity (pp. 303–322). Mahwah NJ: Erlbaum.

23.

Gilson

L. L.

,.& Shalley

C. E.

(.2004). A little creativity goes a long way: an examination of teams’ engagement in creative processes. J. Manag., 30(4), 453–470.

24.

Greenberg

, Reiner

, & Meiran

(2012). “Mind the trap”: Mindfulness practice reduces cognitive rigidity. PLoS One, 7(5), e36206.

25.

Grossman

, Niemann

, Schmidt

, & Walach

(2004). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits: a meta-analysis. J. Psychosom. Res., 57(1), 35–43.

26.

Groza

M. D.

,. Locander

D. A.

,.& Howlett

C. H.

(.2016). Linking thinking styles to sales performance: the importance of creativity and subjective knowledge. J. Bus. Res., 69(10), 4185–4193.

27.

Gunaratana

(2001). Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness: Walking the Buddha's Path. Somerville MA: Wisdom Publications.

28.

Henker

, Sonnentag

, & Unger

(2015). Transformational leadership and employee creativity: the mediating role of promotion focus and creative process engagement. J. Bus. Psychol., 30(2), 235–247.

29.

Henseler

, Hubona

, & Ray

P. A.

(.2016). Using PLS path modeling in new technology research: updated guidelines. Ind. Manag. Data Syst., 116(1), 2–20.

30.

Henseler

, Ringle

C. M.

,.& Sarstedt

(2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. J. Acad. Mark. Sci., 43(1), 115–135.

31.

L. A.

(.2011). Meditation, learning, organizational innovation and performance. Ind. Manag. Data Syst., 111(1), 113–131.

32.

Hulland

(1999). Use of partial least squares (PLS) in strategic management research: a review of four recent studies. Strateg. Manag. J., 20(2), 195–204.

33.

Janssen

(2001). Fairness perceptions as a moderator in the curvilinear relationships between job demands, and job performance and job satisfaction. Acad. Manag. J., 44(5), 1039–1050.

34.

Jiang

, & Yang

(2015). Roles of creative process engagement and leader–member exchange in critical thinking and employee creativity. Soc. Behav. Pers. Int. J., 43(7), 1217–1231.

35.

Kabat‐Zinn

(2003). Mindfulness‐based interventions in context: past, present, and future. Clin. Psychol. Sci. Pract., 10(2), 144–156.

36.

Kahn

W. A.

(.1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Acad. Manag. J., 33(4), 692–724.

37.

Keng

S. L.

,. Smoski

M. J.

,.& Robins

C. J.

(.2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: a review of empirical studies. Clin. Psychol. Rev., 31(6), 1041–1056.

38.

Lindell

M. K.

,.& Whitney

D. J.

(.2001). Accounting for common method variance in cross-sectional research designs. J. Appl. Psychol., 86(1), 114–121.

39.

Lutz

, Dunne

J. D.

,.& Davidson

R. J.

(.2007). Meditation and the neuroscience of consciousness. In Zelazo

P. D.

, Moscovitch

, & Thompson

(Eds.), Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness (pp. 499–555). Cambridge, England: University Press.

40.

Moore

, & Malinowski

(2009). Meditation, mindfulness and cognitive flexibility. Conscious. Cogn., 18(1), 176–186.

41.

Ostafin

B. D.

,.& Kassman

K. T.

(.2012). Stepping out of history: mindfulness improves insight problem solving. Conscious. Cogn., 21(2), 1031–1036.

42.

Podsakoff

P. M.

,. MacKenzie

S. B.

,. Lee

J. Y.

,.& Podsakoff

N. P.

(.2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. J. Appl. Psychol., 88(5), 879–903.

43.

Podsakoff

P. M.

,. Todor

W. M.

,.& Skov

(1982). Effects of leader contingent and noncontingent reward and punishment behaviors on subordinate performance and satisfaction. Acad. Manag. J., 25(4), 810–821.

44.

Sedlmeier

, Eberth

, Schwarz

, Zimmermann

, Haarig

, Jaeger

, & Kunze

(2012). The psychological effects of meditation: a meta-analysis. Psychol. Bull., 138(6), 1139–1171.

45.

Shalley

C. E.

(.1991). Effects of productivity goals, creativity goals, and personal discretion on individual creativity. J. Appl. Psychol., 76(2), 179–185.

46.

Shalley

C. E.

(.1995). Effects of coaction, expected evaluation, and goal setting on creativity and productivity. Acad. Manag. J., 38(2), 483–503.

47.

Shalley

C. E.

,. Zhou

, & Oldham

G. R.

(.2004). The effects of personal and contextual characteristics on creativity: where should we go from here? J. Manag., 30(6), 933–958.

48.

Shao

, & Skarlicki

D. P.

(.2009). The role of mindfulness in predicting individual performance. Can. J. Behav. Sci., 41(4), 195–201.

49.

Sternberg

R. J.

(.1988). The Nature of Creativity: Contemporary Psychological Perspectives. Cambridge, England: University Press.

50.

Sternberg

R. J.

,.& Lubart

T. I.

(.1996). Investing in creativity. Am. Psychol., 51(7), 677–688.

51.

Torrance

E. P.

(.1988). The nature of creativity as manifest in its testing. In Sternburg

R. J.

(Ed.), The Nature of Creativity: Contemporary Psychological Perspectives (pp. 43–75). Cambridge, England: University Press.

52.

Wallace

B. A.

,.& Shapiro

S. L.

(.2006). Mental balance and well-being: building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. Am. Psychol., 61(7), 690–701.

53.

Williams

L. J.

,.& Anderson

S. E.

(.1991). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment as predictors of organizational citizenship and in-role behaviors. J. Manag., 17(3), 601–617.

54.

Woodman

R. W.

,. Sawyer

J. E.

,.& Griffin

R. W.

(.1993). Toward a theory of organizational creativity. Acad. Manag. Rev., 18(2), 293–321.

55.

Zabelina

D. L.

,. O'Leary

, Pornpattananangkul

, Nusslock

, & Beeman

(2015). Creativity and sensory gating indexed by the P50: Selective versus leaky sensory gating in divergent thinkers and creative achievers. Neuropsychologia, 69, 77–84.

56.

Zabelina

D. L.

,. Robinson

M. D.

,. Ostafin

B. D.

,.& Council

J. R.

(.2011). Manipulating mindfulness benefits creative elaboration at high levels of neuroticism. Empir. Stud. Arts, 29(2), 243–255.

57.

Zhang

, & Bartol

K. M.

(.2010a). The influence of creative process engagement on employee creative performance and overall job performance: a curvilinear assessment. J. Appl. Psychol., 95(5), 862–873.

58.

Zhang

, & Bartol

K. M.

(.2010b). Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: the influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. Acad. Manag. J., 53(1), 107–128.

59.

Zhou

, & George

J. M.

(.2001). When job dissatisfaction leads to creativity: encouraging the expression of voice. Acad. Manag. J., 44(4), 682–696.

60.

Zhou

, & George

J. M.

(.2003). Awakening employee creativity: the role of leader emotional intelligence. Leadersh. Q., 14(4-5), 545–568.