Examining mindfulness and its relationship to unethical behaviors

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to explore the mediating effect of moral disengagement in the relationship between mindfulness and unethical behaviors. The authors also explored the moderating effect of perceptions of politics on the mediational chain. Design/methodology/approach - The authors administrated time-lagged surveys at two time periods separated by six weeks. Respondents were 206 full-time employees working in the USA. Hierarchical, moderated multiple regression analyzes were used to test the mediation and moderation effects. Findings - Results showed that mindfulness reduced destructive deviant behavior and unethical pro-organizational behavior through moral disengagement and the mediation effects were weaker when employees’ perceptions of politics were stronger. Research limitations/implications - The results indicate that mindfulness and perceptions of organizational politics combine to have profound impacts on employee unethical behaviors. Organizations seeking to minimize the occurrence of deviance and unethical behaviors may do well to support employee mindfulness and as well as minimizing organizational politics. The findings suggest that the political context has a negative impact on even the behavior of mindful employees. Therefore, building mindfulness while simultaneously reducing politics are equally important goals. Originality/value - Our study extends the theoretical development of mindfulness research by examining the interactive effects of perceptions of organizational politics and mindfulness and broadens the theoretical rationale for explaining the linkages between mindfulness and unethical behaviors.