The cost of mindfulness in the workplace: the moderating role of mindfulness in surface acting, self-control depletion, and performance outcomes.

Lyddy, CJ, Good, DJ, Bolino, MC, Thompson, PS, and Stephens, JP (2021). The cost of mindfulness in the workplace: the moderating role of mindfulness in surface acting, self-control depletion, and performance outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000863

Commentary

Research in organizational behavior and psychology emphasizes that mindfulness has a positive impact on employee well-being and performance through its benefits to self-control.

However, some point out that mindfulness may also have a "dark side," and researchers have yet to investigate the potential costs of mindfulness at work. Based on research that has found that mindfulness reduces the level of surface acting, we investigated the possibility that mindful employees engage in surface acting and that it contributes to greater self-control depletion, leading to undesirable performance outcomes.

Six field studies were used to test the theoretical model, collecting data at multiple time points from both employees and supervisors.

In two Study 1 samples, we found that mindfulness moderated the relationship between surface action and self-control depletion, and that this relationship was stronger for more mindful individuals.

In a Study 2 sample of four, we replicated the results of Study 1 and found that the mediated relationship between surface action and the five dimensions of employee performance via self-control depletion was moderated by paying attention in the first place, and that this mediated relationship became stronger.