A quantitative study of employee mindfulness - An investigation of the perceived benefits to employees

Murphy, Edel (2017) A quantitative study of employee mindfulness - An investigation of the perceived benefits to employees. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

Mindfulness has been defined as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment to moment” (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). There has been a growing interest and body of empirical research examining the role of mindfulness in psychological wellbeing. Brown et al (2016) posit that mindfulness today “is among one of the hottest topics in clinical and basic psychological science”. While much of the research has been conducted on the benefits of mindfulness in the medical world, less is known about the prevalence and benefits in a workplace context (Glomb, 2011; Vich 2015).

Mental ill health is the leading cause of workplace sickness in the UK (The Mindful Initiative, 2016). Closer to home, ‘the overwhelmed employee’ was identified as the number one human capital issue facing Ireland (Deloitte, 2014). Solutions must be found deal with these issues and organisations need to do more for the wellbeing of their employees. There is evidence to support that mindfulness practice leads to a number of benefits including stress reduction; and therefore has a positive impact on employee wellbeing.

A study of employees in a Global Technology Company was undertaken. The research was conducted using a mono method quantitative design. To examine the mindfulness level of the employees the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale was included in the survey (Brown and Ryan, 2003). The MAAS maintained reliability and a Cronbach’s reliability value of 0.890 was reported. The results revealed an average mindfulness score, which reflected the typical average MAAS score reported. In order to triangulate the research, a number of findings regarding the uptake of courses, daily practice and the benefits of mindfulness courses were discussed with a Human Resource Manager from the company. The implications of the results are outlined in this report.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Issues of Labour and Work > Quality of Work Life / Job Satisfaction
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Business Administration
Depositing User:	Caoimhe Ní Mhaicín
Date Deposited:	21 Nov 2017 09:16
Last Modified:	21 Nov 2017 09:16
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/2861

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