The effect of mindfulness in organizations on employee engement among health care and factory workers in Thailand

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate mindfulness in the workplace, and its effect on employee engagement. Further, the mechanisms of how mindfulness in the organization (MIO) positively associate with employee engagement is explored in an empirical study of health care workers and factory workers in Thailand. Design/methodology/approach – Research design is based on a mixed method with a quantitative and qualitative approach, using two case studies. One case was studied from a public hospital context with 291 responses to a survey and 28 in-depth interviews from healthcare workers in one public hospital. The second sample was from a factory, with 178 surveys and 27 in-depth interviews from one factory in Thailand. The job demand-resources (JD-R) model was adopted as a theoretical framework to develop the in-depth interviews. Findings – This study reveals an emerging theme that the “mindfulness in the organization (MIO)” initiative in Thailand has a potential to extend the JD-R model with mindfulness and emotional intelligence. In addition, the findings indicate that MIO can positively associate with psychological capital, emotional intelligence, and perceived resources, and alleviate perceived demands, which altogether have the potential to positively associate with work engagement, colleague engagement, and organizational engagement. This supports the quantitative finding that mindfulness significantly positively associates with employee engagement. Research limitations /implications – As this study was conducted in the settings of the health care service sector and the manufacturing industry in Thailand, cross validation and comparison in other industries or countries will be required to advance the limited knowledge in this realm. This research has important implications for organizations and managers. Organizational leaders and managers should apply mindfulness practices in their organizations, since mindfulness in the organization can support employees’ psychological capital, and emotional intelligence, and positively associate with engagement in the organization. Originality /value – This study is the first empirical research that explored the topics of mindfulness in the organization (MIO) and engagement at various levels. It contributes to the theoretical advancement and limited empirical evidence in this field. This empirical examination supports existing arguments about benefits of mindfulness in occupational setting. Furthermore, this research incorporated mindfulness in the organization and extended job demands-resources model (JD-R model) with emotional intelligence as one of the components that positively associate with work engagement, colleague engagement and organization engagement.