This study investigated the daily relationships between mindfulness and job satisfaction via affect and mindfulness and task performance via problem solving confidence. Participants were 57 full-time and part-time employees who completed a baseline survey and five daily diary entries. Data were analysed using multilevel modelling. On days when they experienced greater mindfulness, employees also experienced (a) greater daily job satisfaction via high-activation positive affect (but not low-activation positive affect nor negative affect) and (b) greater daily self-reported task performance via problem solving confidence. Our findings suggest that high-activation positive affect and problem solving confidence may be important daily mechanisms of mindfulness at work. Growing evidence links mindfulness to work-related outcomes; however, limited research has investigated the mechanisms involved. The present study is one of the first to collect empirical observations regarding how state mindfulness operates at work on a daily basis, providing support for both affective and cognitive pathways. Advances in this area can underpin a robust theoretical framework to guide the implementation of daily mindfulness practice and interventions targeting specific work-related outcomes.
Keywords: job satisfaction; mindfulness; problem solving confidence; task performance.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.