As we witness an ever-increasing national employee turnover rate (US Bureau of Labor Statistics), employee retention has become a number one priority and focus point for employers. While there are several contributors to this problem, a major contributor is job satisfaction.
Job satisfaction is the feeling of enjoyment or fulfillment that one experiences and associates with their job. Job satisfaction can be derived from a mix of internal and external influences. External factors that contribute to job satisfaction include work-life balance, recognition, growth opportunities and compensation.
By contrast, internal influences (whether emotional or psychological in nature) are more difficult to measure - making it harder to understand how they contribute to job satisfaction. Many new studies, however, prove that there is a relationship between mindfulness, job satisfaction and ultimately employee retainment.
What is Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the psychological state of being conscious of the 'here and now'. It is the mental act of being present in the current moment - without thinking about the future or dwelling on the past. It is also about being receptive to the inner and outer experieces currently unfolding without reacting, responding emotionally or forming judgement.
Characteristics of Mindful People
Since it is a psychological state, everyone has the ability to be mindful but some people are naturally more mindful than others. This is what is referred to as trait mindfulness. Mindfulness can be considered an innate personality trait in those who demonstrate characteristics such as awareness, engagement, curiosity, willingness to accept, they tend to be non-judgemental, conscientious, open to experiences and agreeable.
Studies have shown that people who practice mindfulness are less stressed, are able to regulate stress induced behaviour, are able to cope and adapt to challenging situations and are more likely to react with positive emotions (Vaculika, Vytaskovaa, Prochazkaa, & Zalis, 2016).
Links to Job Satisfaction
Studies have shown that those who demonstrate trait mindfulness are more likely to experience job satisfaction (University of Exeter, 2022). Suspected reasons for this include:
▪ Mindful employees are able to cope with stressful situations better, therefore they are able to face the stressors in their job and be less affected by them.
▪ They are able to focus their attention on their work, and show less absent-minded behaviour, thus making less mistakes.
▪ Mindful people demonstrate improved decision-making by suppressing emotional and impulsive responses which leads to better job performance.
▪ They have more positive work relationships since mindful people are more empathetic, worry less about what others think, and are less likely to compare themselves to others in a negative way.
| ▪ | Mindful employees are able to cope with stressful situations better, therefore they are able to face the stressors in their job and be less affected by them. |
| ▪ | They are able to focus their attention on their work, and show less absent-minded behaviour, thus making less mistakes. |
| ▪ | Mindful people demonstrate improved decision-making by suppressing emotional and impulsive responses which leads to better job performance. |
| ▪ | They have more positive work relationships since mindful people are more empathetic, worry less about what others think, and are less likely to compare themselves to others in a negative way. |
What This Means for the Workplace
There is a strong link between mindfulness, job performance, job satisfaction and employee retention. Studies suggest that providing mindfulness training for employees could both increase work quality and increase staff retention. It is not claiming to be the one simple cure for employee retention, but could be an important and overlooked factor.
