AUTHOR=Reizer Abira 

TITLE=Bringing Self-Kindness Into the Workplace: Exploring the Mediating Role of Self-Compassion in the Associations Between Attachment and Organizational Outcomes

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01148

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01148

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>Research has shown that individual differences in adult attachment predict several organizational outcomes. However, little is known about the mechanism that underlies these associations. The current study examines whether self-compassion can serve as a potential mediator explaining the associations between individual differences in attachment and organizational outcomes. Four outcome measures were evaluated: job performance (HPQ; <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="B43">Kessler et al., 2003</xref>), organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="B29">Goodman and Svyantek, 1999</xref>), turnover intentions (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="B1">Abrams et al., 1998</xref>), and emotional exhaustion (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="B90">Schaufeli et al., 1996</xref>). In addition, participants (<italic>N</italic> = 202, response rate 81%) also completed several questionnaires assessing attachment style (ECR; <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="B14">Brennan et al., 1998</xref>) and self-compassion (SCS; <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="B65">Neff, 2003</xref>). Using structural equation modeling (SEM) for testing the research hypotheses, the hypothesized model was supported, with self-compassion mediating the relationship between attachment styles and all four work-related outcomes. The research findings suggest that self-compassion can provide a solid mechanism for understanding organizational outcomes and for understanding individual differences related to attachment functioning in the workplace.</p>