Which strategies are most effective for increasing workplace mindfulness? Purpose Preparing an Executive Summary is a critical

ANALYTICAL REPORT CONTENTS AND FORMAT

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Promoting Sustainability: The Effects of Workplace Mindfulness Training

Introduction

Mindfulness training is enjoying grow- ing popularity in work life settings, with the aim to increase employees’ mindful- ness level and thereby their well-being. Prior evidence suggests that higher mindfulness is associated with reduced stress (Ciesa and Serretti, 2009) and bet- ter recovery from work (e.g. Hülsheger, Land, Depenbrock, Fehrmann, Zijlstra and Alberts, 2014). Mindfulness can be defined as non-judgmental, moment-to- moment awareness which can be culti- vated through formal meditation and informal practice in everyday life (e.g. Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Trait mindfulness refers to how mindful individual tend to be and act in daily life. Mindfulness is constituted of various facets, such as non- reacting, observing, acting with aware- ness, describing and non-judging experi- ences. Of these, non-reacting, defined as the ability to step back from and not be overwhelmed by distressing experiences, is an important contributor to employee well-being (Malinowski and Lim, 2015).

Three broad streams of mindfulness research exist. First, correlational and cross-sectional research explores asso- ciations between mindfulness levels and other factors (e.g. Malinowski and Lim, 2015). Second, diverse intervention stud- ies examine the effects of various types of mindfulness training, while the third stream consists of laboratory-based re- search (c.f. Keng, Smoski and Robins, 2011). In this variety of methods used to study the effects of mindfulness train- ing, there seems to be a lack of studies employing mixed methods. In addition, participants in workplace mindfulness- training interventions frequently have been employees in the health care and education sectors. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to use quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the effects of workplace mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training for factory employees.

Mindfulness training

Previous research indicates that mind- fulness training can lead to higher self- reported mindfulness (e.g. Anderson,

Lau and Bishop, 2007), and a number of studies have demonstrated that increases in mindfulness levels mediate the effects of mindfulness interventions on out- comes, such as well-being (for a review, see Keng, Smoski and Robins, 2011). For instance, a structured, group-based MBSR programme employed mindful- ness meditation to develop enhanced awareness of the moment-to-moment experiences of perceptible mental pro- cesses and thereby improve psychological and physical well-being (e.g. Grossman, Niemann, Schimidt and Walach, 2004). In accordance of these findings, it was proposed that:

Hypothesis 1: Compared with the par- ticipants in the control group, the partic- ipants in the mindfulness-based training group will display increased mindfulness after the training.

Mindfulness and emotions at work

In general, mindfulness seems to support emotion regulation, for instance, reduc- ing emotional reactivity (e.g. Arch and Craske, 2010). Furthermore, mindful- ness seems to stabilise attention in the present and decrease mind wandering, which has close links to negative affect and negative mood. This link is espe- cially strong when the mind wanders to past topics which include negative content (i.e. rumination). (Smallwood and O´Connor, 2011; Smallwood and Schooler, 2015.) Therefore, if mind- fulness training can increase focus on the present moment and reduce mind wandering, this training might decrease negative emotions. In line with this spec- ulation, a body of empirical evidence sug- gests that MBSR training decreases the emotions of fear, anger and worry (Rob- ins, Keng, Ekblad and Brantley, 2012). Mindfulness is associated not only with diminished negativity but also enhanced positive emotions. Overall, evidence from correlational studies suggests that higher mindfulness is associated with higher lev- els of positive affect (Keng, Smoski and Robins, 2011). For instance, Schutte and Malouff (2011) reported an association of mindfulness with higher positive affect and lower negative affect, and in another study, mindfulness training focused on

Jaana-Piia Mäkiniemi Kirsi Heikkilä-Tammi

Abstract Mindfulness training is enjoying growing popularity in workplaces. In the current study, the effects of workplace mindfulness training were evaluated using quantitative and qualitative methods. The study’s novelty value arises from the implementation of workplace training among factory employees and the mixed-methods approach to evaluation. The quasi-experimental design with training and control groups included pre- and post- measurements and four focus group interviews. The results of the pre-post-test indicated that, compared with the participants in the control group, the participants in the mindfulness-based training group displayed significantly greater increases in mindfulness, positive emotions and hope pathways after training. The findings from the focus group interviews also indicated positive effects associated with relaxation, creativity at work, quality of social interactions and quality of sleep. The participants also perceived challenges in the training, such as inexperience, odd and difficult mindfulness practices, difficulties with home practice, a lack of social support and the demanding features of the environment. These results were discussed in light of the added value of the mixed-methods evaluation approach.

Key Words: workplace mindfulness training, mindfulness, positivity, hope

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loving-kindness meditation was able to increase daily experi- ences of positive emotions (Fredrickson, Cohn, Coffey, Pek and Finkel, 2008). Based on these findings, it was hypothesised that:

Hypothesis 2: Compared with the participants in the control group, the participants in the mindfulness-based training group will show higher increases of positive affect (a) and greater de- creases of negative affect (b).

Mindfulness and hope at work

Hope can be defined as the perceived capability to see path- ways to desired goals and to motivate oneself through agency thinking to use those pathways. The hope construct distin- guishes between agency and pathway thinking, but hopeful- ness requires both as they feed on each other (Snyder, 2002). It has been proposed that, when individuals have mindfulness and can step back from emotional reactivity, they experience more hopeful attitudes (Malinowski and Lim, 2015). Accord- ingly, an integrated mindfulness and hope-theory-based med- itation-training intervention could increase participants’ hope (Thorton, Cheavens, Heitzmann and Dorfman, 2014), and in a mindfulness-based meditation-training intervention, the hope of the training group increased significantly more than that of the comparison group (Munoz, Hoppes, Hellman, Brunk, Bragg and Cummins, 2016). In addition, higher trait mindful- ness has been found to be associated with lower cynicism (Tay- lor and Millear, 2016), which can be seen as a counterpoint to hope. Basing on these findings, it was suggested that:

Hypothesis 3: Compared with the participants in the con- trol group, the participants in the training group will display increased hope in general (a) and increased agency (b) and path- ways (c) in particular.

Mindfulness and social relations at work

Researchers have suggested that the participants in mindfulness training ‘relat[e] more mindfully’ to others and the ability to be more present might result in better listening and focusing on others’ needs (Bihari and Mullan, 2014),. Social interactions at work can evoke many feelings, from irritation and anxiety to joy. Mindfulness training suppresses automatic tendencies to react to internal and external triggers, such as irritating per- sons and uncomfortable topics of conservations. Consequently, mindful people might be more able to respond to experiences an intentional and skilful way, exhibiting less reactivity and more tolerance in social interactions, for instance (c.f. Bihari and Mullan, 2014). In a qualitative study of nurses’ experiences of MBSR training, the participants explained that the training helped them focus more on patients and listen more deeply at work (Cohen-Katz, Wilev, Capuano, Baker, Deitrich and Sha- piro, 2005). In another study, family therapist trainees reported improved compassion and acceptance of others due to training (McCollum and Gehart, 2010). Based on a review by Boelling- haus, Jones and Hutton (2014), qualitative studies seem to give more support than quantitative studies to the idea that mind- fulness training improves other-focused concern. This differ- ence suggests that different data collection methods can paint divergent pictures of the benefits of mindfulness training in the context of social relations. In addition, mindfulness also seems to be linked to openness to new social relationships. For exam- ple, one type of mindfulness meditation, loving-kindness medi- tation, has been shown to increase feelings of social connection and positivity towards novel individuals (Hutcherson, Seppälä and Gross, 2008). Together, these findings indicate that mind-

fulness training may affect the quality of social relations. Based on these studies, it was hypothesised that:

Hypothesis 4: Compared with the participants in the control group, the participants in the mindfulness-based training group will show increased openness (a) and friendliness (b) to other people at work.

Mindfulness and creativity at work

Mindfulness has been shown to be associated with creative thinking. However, in a meta-analysis of 33 empirical corre- lational and intervention studies, the effect sizes ranged from small to medium. (Lebuda, Zabelina and Karwowski, 2016.) The mindfulness–creativity link likely exists as mindful atten- tion to the present moment reduces the tendency to perform habitual responses, and creative problem-solving often requires openness to various new aspects which emerge in the present situation. Similarly, empirical evidence suggests that even brief mindfulness training can lead to better performance on insight problems (a class of problems in which non-habitual respons- es or intuition are key factors) (Ostafin and Kassman, 2012). Mind wandering, which often decreases as mindfulness increas- es, however, seems to be beneficial for creativity (Smallwood and Schooler, 2015). Given that the general pattern of evidence supports a positive link between mindfulness and creativity, it was proposed that:

Hypothesis 5: Compared with the participants in the control group, the participants in the mindfulness-based training group will report higher increases of self-reported creativity at work.

Mindfulness and workability

Workability can be defined as employees’ ability to do their job satisfactorily or how well and able they can do their job at pre- sent and in the near future given their work demands, health and mental resources. This concept can be divided into two di- mensions: mental and physical workability (Ilmarinen, Tuomi and Klockars, 1997). To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no prior studies have measured the effects of mindfulness train- ing on workability. However, one correlation study proposes that mindfulness has an indirect effect on workability through perceived quality of life (Vindholmen, Høigaard, Spnes and Seiler, 2014). Nevertheless, it can be assumed that constructs such as burnout and work engagement are possible frames of reference as they share features with the concept of workabil- ity: all capture dimensions of employee well-being (c.f. Warr, 1990; Harju, Hakanen and Schaufeli, 2014). Generally, lower self-reported mindfulness seems to be associated with ill-being at work, such as higher burnout (e.g. Taylor and Millear, 2016), whereas higher mindfulness seems to be related to well-being at work, such as work engagement (e.g. Leroy, Anseel, Dimitrova and Sels, 2013; Malinowski and Lim, 2015). For example, two facets of mindfulness, non-judgmental attitudes and less reac- tivity, have been shown to be associated with lower levels of burnout, particularly lower emotional exhaustion and cynicism (Taylor and Millear, 2016). In addition, mindfulness training has been reported to be effective at reducing stress reduction (Ciesa and Serretti, 2009) and supporting recovery from daily work demands (e.g. Hülsheger et al., 2014), for instance, by im- proving sleep quality and duration (e.g. Hülsheger, Feinholdt and Nübold, 2015). Based on these findings, it was hypoth- esised that:

Hypothesis 6: Compared with the participants in the control group, the participants in the mindfulness-based training group

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will show increased physical (a) and mental (b) workability.

Methods

Intervention design Before the training intervention, the researchers discussed with management and other staff how to tailor the mindful- ness training to meet the needs of the organisation and employ- ees. In the discussion there was a concern that the scales and measurements might be too difficult to complete as the topic of the questionnaire was abstract and unfamiliar to many. Con- sequently, there was we attempt to make the questionnaire as easy to complete as possible. Some options on the scales were harmonised, as described in detail in the measures section and discussed in the limitation section. The management and com- pany representative also made an input regarding the protocols of the focus group; for instance, they helped to identify the most suitable times for interviews and the most appropriate interview duration for their employees.

The mindfulness training programme called InnoPresence consisted of 10 sessions and an introductory session at which information (e.g. procedure, risks) was given in oral and written form to obtain informed consent following the principles of the American Psychological Association (2010). The training was held over approximately 10 months, with a break between the spring and autumn sessions. Each training session lasted two hours and took place in a large meeting room in the factory. The first five sessions were intended to increase mindfulness in general and were led by a certified MBSR teacher. These sessions closely followed the principles and guidelines of the MBSR programme, which aims to reduce stress and includes specific exercises, such as mindfulness meditation, body scan and gentle yoga (Kabat-Zinn, 1990; 2003). The participants were also given a CD with recorded exercises to support mind- fulness practice at home and were encouraged to informally practice mindfulness at home or work (e.g. mindful lunch, mindful conversation). The last five sessions were aimed at in- creasing mindfulness at work and included short mindfulness exercises and a variety of group exercises—also art based—led by an experienced facilitator. In these exercises, the participants identified and shared moments in which they felt present and mindful at work, as an example.

The training participants were blue- and white-collar work- ers in a Finnish company in the forestry industry. Initially, 32 employees expressed willingness to participate, but only 25 ac- tually started the training. The company representative selected the participants and invited them to the introductory session and training, but participation was voluntary. The average number of participants at the training sessions was 17, ranging from 11 to 25 per session.

Quantitative study

Participants The quasi-experimental design consisted of pre- and post- measurements among employees of a Finnish forest factory. The participants completed a survey before (Time 1) and af- ter the training intervention (Time 2). The analysis included the 17 participants who completed both the pre- and post-test. These participants form the experimental group. Eleven (64.7 per cent) were women, and they had an average age of 43 years and had been at the company for approximately 16 years (SD = 8.2). None had previous mindfulness experience. About 65 per cent had work which included some supervisory responsibilities

(e.g. factory foreman/woman). A control group of 19 co-employees answered identical sur-

veys through an electronic answering system. The control group (N =19) included fewer women and more managers: 52.6 per cent were women (n=10), and about 84 per cent (n= 16) had managerial duties. The participants in this group had an aver- age age of 42 years (SD = 10.43) and had been with the com- pany for 13.5 years (SD = 9.0). The training and control groups had no significant differences in the initial mean values for the main variables measured with independent samples t test.

Pre- and post-test measures Mindfulness Mindfulness was assessed with the one-dimensional, 14-item Freiburg Mindfulness Scale (Walach, Buchheld, Buttenmül- ler, Kleinknecht and Schmidt, 2006). Its scale ranged from 1 (never) to 5 (always). Back translation was used to translate the scale from English to Finnish.

Positive and negative emotions Positive and negative emotions were measured with a slightly modified version of the Short Form of the Positive and Nega- tive Affect Schedule (PANAS; Thompson, 2007). The re- spondents were asked to indicate how often they had experi- enced certain feelings at work during the past week. The scale ranged from 1 (never) to 5 (always) and included 10 feelings: upset, hostile, alert, ashamed, inspired, nervous, determined, at- tentive, afraid and active. Back translation was used.

Hope The Trait Hope Scale (Sneider et al., 1991) was used to explore the construct of hope. The scale used ranged from 1 (never) to 5 (always), and sub- and total scores were calculated. Back trans- lation was used to translate the scale from English to Finnish.

Creativity The Creativity at Work Scale was developed based on the em- ployee creativity items (Tierney, Farmer and Graen, 1999). The respondents were asked to indicate how often they acted in certain ways at work. The scale included eight statements, such as ‘I demonstrate originality in my work’, ‘I like to produce new ideas in doing my job’ and ‘I generate novel but feasible work- related ideas’. The scale ranged from 1 (never) to 5 (always).

Social relations: connectivity and kindness at work Connectivity was measured with the Connectivity at Work Scale adapted from the longer High-Quality Relationship Scale (Carmeli, Brueller and Dutton, 2009). The respondents were asked to indicate how often they acted in certain ways at work. The scale ranged from 1 (never) to 5 (always) and included four items, such as ‘I am open to listening to my co-workers’ new ideas’ and ‘I am open to diverse opinions, even if they come from unconventional sources’.

Friendliness in the workplace was measured with the modi- fied Kindness at Work Scale developed by Perhoniemi and Ha- kanen (2010). In practice, the respondents were asked to self- evaluate, for instance, how often they were friendly to others or tried to cheer up workmates. Four items were included on a scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always).

Workability The Shortened Workability Index was used to measure the respondents’ level of workability (Tuomi, Ilmarinen, Jahkola, Katajarinne, and Tulkki 1998). The index had two questions:

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How do you rate your current workability regarding the physi- cal demands of your work? How do you rate your current work- ability regarding the mental demands of your work? The scale ranged from 1 (very poor) to 5 (very good).

Quantitative analysis The quantitative data were analysed with statistical methods using SPPS 22. The hypotheses were tested with two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) using time (Time 1/pre-test vs. Time 2/post-test) by group (training group vs. control group). Time was the within-subject factor, while the group the between-subject factor. Finally, a paired samples t-test was conducted to examine the within-group dif- ferences between the two time points (see Table 1 p. 23).

Qualitative study

Focus group interviews Qualitative data were collected through focus group interviews to capture the participants’ views, opinions and shared experi- ences of the training and to get a deeper understanding of the effects of training. Four focus groups were organised. The first author moderated all the interviews, and the research assistant helped tape-record them. The interviews were organised in the factory’s meeting room and lasted approximately 50 minutes each. All of the interviews were tape-recorded.

The key questions asked in the focus group interviews were: 1. Why did you decide to take this programme? 2. What moti- vates you to continue with the programme? 3. What challenges related to the training have you experienced? 4. Have you ob- served any personal benefits from the programme? 5. How are you practicing mindfulness outside the training? 6. What has been your general experience of the training? In addition to the key questions presented above, more specific questions were asked in an attempt to elicit broader and more detailed answers. The interview questions were devised on the basis of prior stud- ies, for example, the study by Cohen-Katz et al. (2005), and on observations during training. For instance, researchers noted that some practices were more unpleasant than others, and this presented an opportunity to obtain information about the chal- lenges and possible negative experiences faced by employees.

Participants The company representative invited potential participants to the focus group interviews and helped with the practicalities of the meetings. Also, anyone who had already dropped the training was asked to participate. However, participation was voluntary, and all of those who expressed willingness to par- ticipate were admitted. Eighteen participants in the training (experimental) group also took part in the four focus group interviews. Two focus groups were held after the first five ses- sions before the summer break, and the other two after all the training was completed. The participants included 5 men and 13 women who worked in both office and factory settings. Two participants dropped out during the first five training sessions.

Qualitative analysis The interview data were transcribed verbatim and subjected to inductive data-driven content analysis (Elo and Kyngäs, 2008). Two researchers independently read the interview transcripts several times and coded the data. The two analyses were com- pared, and any differences were discussed to reach mutual un- derstanding. The analysis was carried out inductively so that the themes emerged from the data. The same two researchers

analysed all four focus group interviews. Only the themes re- lated to the perceived benefits and challenges of the training are reported here.

Results

Quantitative study

Table 1 (p. 24) shows the alphas, means and standard devia- tions for the training and control groups and the results of the within-group t-tests.

Mindfulness Two-way repeated measured ANOVA showed a significant group x time interaction effect on self-reported mindfulness (F(1,28) = 6.411, p = .02, n2 = .19). This result indicated that the participants in the training group reported significantly higher increases in mindfulness between the two time points than the participants in the control group. Therefore, hypoth- esis 1 was completely supported (Table 1).

Emotions There was a significant group x time interaction effect on self- reported positive emotions, (F(1,34) = 5.405, p = .03, n2 = .14), indicating that the increase in positive emotions was significant- ly higher in the training group than the control group. There was no significant group x time interaction effect on negative emotions (F(1,33) = .631, p = .43). Therefore, hypothesis 3a was supported as positive emotions increased after the training, as expected, and hypothesis 3b was rejected (Table 1).

Hope There was a significant group x time interaction effect on self- reported hope pathways (F (1, 32) = 5.347, p = .03, n2 = .14). This indicated that, compared to the control group, the train- ing group showed significant increases in hope pathway. There was no significant group x time interaction effect on hope agen- cy (F(1,34) = 3.601, p = .07) or on total hope (F(1,33) = 3.974, p = .06). Therefore, hypothesis 2b was completely supported (Table 1).

Social relations, creativity and workability There was no significant group x time interaction effect on the quality of social relations, namely, connectivity (F(1,34) = 1,154, p = .30) and friendliness (F(1,34) = .002, p = .97). There was no significant group x time interaction effect on creativity (F(1,34) = 2,501, p = .12), psychological workability (F(1,34) = 1.193, p = .28) or physical workability (F(1,34) = .035, p = .85). Hypotheses 4a, 4b, 5 and 6 were rejected as the self-reported quality of social relations, creativity and workability did not in- crease significantly after the mindfulness training (Table 1).

Qualitative study

The key themes regarding the effects and benefits of the training were the physical and emotional benefits, increased awareness, quality of social interactions, creativity and increased accept- ance. These themes are described in more detail in this section.

The physical and emotional changes were the most impor- tant benefits described by all the participants. For instance, the interviewees reported that their bodies felt more relaxed due to the training. They were calmer, could keep their calm in dif- ficult situations and could work with a good spirit. For the par- ticipants who worked shifts, the practice gave them a tool to fall

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asleep. Several participants reported better sleeping in general, and some blue-collar workers especially highlighted this bene- fit. For instance, one participant stated: ‘Well, in my opinion, it is just there—that you know how to pay attention to relaxation. It is that you are able to fall asleep when you can relax. … Well, yes, all in all, it has a big impact on overall well-being, that, in a way, you know how to get yourself relaxed’.

In the training, one of the main mindfulness practices was a breathing exercise which taught how to stay present in breath- ing. This practice seemed to help the participants stay present and calm in difficult work situations. Also, the participants felt that their stress tolerance increased. Factory-floor workers did not panic in difficult and demanding situations. The par- ticipants explained that, for example, when a machine broke down, they had to deal with the situation quickly and remain cool-headed. Some white-collar workers felt that their ability to manage information load improved, as described in the fol- lowing extract: ‘Well, I have a bad habit of having lots of emails open at the same time, and then I write a little bit on that and

on that. And then, I hav

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