How and when leader mindfulness influences team member interpersonal behavior: Evidence from a quasi-field experiment and a field survey

Abstract

Although studies have verified the beneficial effects of individual mindfulness in the workplace, the knowledge of how leader mindfulness crosses over to team members’ interpersonal behavior via affective-related mechanisms as well as when leader mindfulness is ineffective remains limited. Based on motivated empathy theory and the mindfulness literature, this research develops a model in which leader mindfulness enhances leader empathic concern, thereby improving team members’ empathic concern and, in turn, increasing their interpersonal organizational citizenship behavior and decreasing their interpersonal counterproductive work behavior. When workplace hindrance stressors within a team are lower (vs higher), the effect of leader mindfulness on leader empathic concern becomes ineffective. We tested this model using two studies: (1) a quasi-field experiment in which 72 front-line leaders were assigned to either a mindfulness intervention condition or a waitlist control condition and (2) a three-wave, time-lagged survey using a sample of 84 leaders and 697 members. Both studies provide consistent support for our hypotheses.