Mindfulness: A personal resource for engagement, thriving and wellbeing?

Abstract or Summary

Mindfulness is a state of mind where attention and awareness towards the present time are heightened, although judgement regarding the situation is halted (Brown & Ryan, 2003). As such, mindfulness is compromised if individuals behave compulsively or automatically, without awareness of, or attention to, their senses, behaviour and underlying thought tendencies (Brown & Ryan, 2003). Mindfulness, in clinical settings, has been found to be crucial in self-regulation, buffering stress, and facilitating emotional stability (Brown, Ryan & Creswell 2007; Brown, Kasser, Ryan, Linley & Orzech, 2009). This presentation reports on findings from the presenters research conducted on 115 employees that investigated the buffering effects of mindfulness towards job burnout. This study found a strong negative relationship between mindfulness and dysfunctional mental wellbeing outcomes in the workplace. This presentation extrapolates this workplace research towards enhancing student experiences. Overall summarising that for employees and students while trying to remain engaged and learning centred, they are also realistically faced with complex, challenging and pressure-packed situations. Mindfulness offers one potential positive ‘resource’ from which students, employees and business may begin to thrive, or at least positively cope with challenges and changes in their environments.