March 15, 2016
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Please note: This event is for invited researchers only.
Research is the heart of Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS), and we want to make sure that we support each other in developing high quality research. To that end, we created a forum for sharing and encouraging POS-related research ideas that are at various stages of development.
Questions about POS Research Incubator Sessions can be directed to Julia Lee at jooalee@umich.edu.
Title: Mindfulness Practice and Helping Others at Work
Description: Popular interest in mindfulness practices has skyrocketed with mindfulness-programs sprouting at many Fortune 500 countries. Research shows that mindfulness positively influences a range of intrapersonal outcomes from working memory (Jha, Stanley, Kiyonaga, Wong, & Gelfand, 2010) to creativity (Kudesia and Elfenbein, 2014); however little research has examined how mindfulness can influence interpersonal behaviors like helping others, particularly in a work context. We report on findings from two studies. The first is a week-long day-level intervention at a large insurance company demonstrating that mindfulness practice predicts helping behavior at work. In a follow-on lab intervention, we identify and test a set of mechanisms that underlie the relationship between mindfulness practices and helping. In the second study, we also compare the effects of two different types of mindfulness practices to an active control.
Bios: Lindsey Cameron is a third-year doctoral student at the University of Michigan and her work focuses on the experience of precarious work and how organizations can create conditions that allow workers to flourish in the new economy. Gretchen Spreitzer is the Keith E. and Valerie J. Alessi Professor of Business Administration and her research focuses on employee empowerment and thriving. Chen is a third-year doctoral student at the University of Michigan and her work focuses on human energy at work and discretionary behavior in organizations.