Runnng too far ahead. Towards a broader understanding of mindfulness in organizations

Current workplace mindfulness research and interventions assume that teaching mindfulness will have beneficial effects for people and organizations. While research shows that mindfulness trainings may increase resilience of working adults, assuming that mindfulness will have independent effects on outcomes at different levels of an organization is not well grounded. We assert that mindfulness training would, however, be beneficial for organizations when tailored to that context and shaped by an understanding of organizational theory and practice. We also envisage mindfulness as a beneficial property of teams, organizations and the individuals who constitute them. To close the evidence gap we propose building multi-level models of mindfulness in organizations, broadening training programs, and developing a novel competency framework for teachers in this context. Highlights • Mindfulness improves resilience in working adults, but evidence for other work context outcomes such as performance is inconsistent. • Mindfulness interventions which also focus on team and organizational processes may be more effective than mindfulness alone • Research should be guided by multilevel models that offer explanations based on interactions between mindfulness and key organizational factors. • To ensure high quality training for mindfulness in organizations we propose the development of a competency framework for trainers • Mindful and compassionate leadership should facilitate team and organizational mindfulness.