Mindfulness-based stress reduction at work
- May 8
- 2 min read
This research presentation at the Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research features undergraduate student research about mindfulness-based stress reduction at work.
Abstract: Organizational scholars explore workplace outcomes (e.g., performance, job satisfaction) and how to improve them for employees/managers. Likewise, companies have begun advocating for the betterment of workplace outcomes with biohacks (i.e., using science-based self-experimentation to enhance one's body, mind, and life via techniques such as exercise, supplements, or mindfulness), yet research on the impact of these hacks in the context of the workplace is scant. One biohack, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR; Kabat-Zinn, 2003), has been shown to improve health in clinical/healthy populations (Grossman et al. 2004), but its effect in an organizational context is relatively unexplored. PURPOSE: The purpose of this review is to determine the extent of research conducted on MBSR's impact at work. METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature review in the SCOPUS database in September 2023 searching for articles that include the MBSR intervention in the work context. Of the 332 articles identified in the search, 292 studies were excluded because they do not assess a workplace outcome. Thus, we reviewed 40 remaining articles (2 mixed-method, 7 qualitative, & 25 quantitative). RESULTS: We find that MBSR has a positive impact at the individual level on workplace outcomes (e.g., performance, job satisfaction, burnout); one study demonstrates a positive impact of MBSR on an organizational-level workplace outcome. The findings are consistent across various occupations (e.g., managers, nurses, and educators). CONTRIBUTION: This review advances knowledge in organizational science as the first to synthesize the current literature on MBSR's effects on outcomes in the workplace.
Citation: Hasselkus, S.*, Greenfield, C*., Schendel, H*., Lassu, R.A., & O’Steen, H. (2024). A systematic review of how workplace outcomes are impacted by the biohacking intervention of
mindfulness-based stress reduction. Southern California Conference on Undergraduate
Research. 18 November, 2023. Fullerton, CA.
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