The Costs of Mindfulness During a Crisis: The Moderating Effects of Mindfulness on the Relationship between Situational Anxiety,Loneliness,and Job Performance

Abstract

While crises like the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impact well-being, understanding their impacts on employee work functioning remains nascent. To fill this gap, we develop and test a process model examining how situational anxiety leads to increased loneliness and reduced job performance during a crisis. We also observe if mindfulness strengthens these predicted effects. We investigated these questions using data from three samples of employee–supervisor dyads (N = 795) collected at three time points among single employees living alone during the pandemic. Consistent with our predictions, we found that situational anxiety about the COVID-19 crisis resulted in lower performance, a relationship mediated through increased loneliness. Additionally, we found that mindfulness moderated this mediated relationship, as it was stronger for more mindful employees. These results clarify how situational anxiety shapes individual functioning at work, while also demonstrating that mindfulness can impose psychological and performative costs during a crisis.