AUTHOR=Schubin Kristina , Seinsche Laura , Pfaff Holger , Zeike Sabrina 

TITLE=A workplace mindfulness training program may affect mindfulness, well-being, health literacy and work performance of upper-level ICT-managers: An exploratory study in times of the COVID-19 pandemic

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.994959

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2023.994959

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>Mindfulness-based interventions have gained more importance in workplace health promotion due to increased psychological distress in the digital era. Although managers in the information communication technology sector (ICT)-sector are at risk for lower mental health, few studies have evaluated the effects of workplace mindfulness trainings (WMT) on upper-level ICT-managers.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>By applying a mixed methods approach, the study aimed at exploring differences in upper-level ICT-managers’ mindfulness, well-being, health literacy and work performance at the beginning of a WMT (<italic>t</italic>0), immediately after (<italic>t</italic>1) and 3  months after (<italic>t</italic>2) a WMT. Thirteen groups of managers (<italic>n</italic> = 56) completed the training and three corresponding surveys consecutively from October 2019 to April 2021. Managers rated their mindfulness (MAAS), well-being (WHO-5), health literacy, and work performance (HPQ). During the COVID-19-pandemic the training switched from a live on-site mode to a hybrid mode and finally to a digital mode. Repeated measures ANOVAs and Bonferroni-adjusted <italic>post hoc</italic> analyses were used for data analysis. Open-ended responses were content analyzed.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>We found significant differences in managers’ mindfulness [<italic>F</italic>(2.106) = 3.376, <italic>p</italic> = 0.038, η<sub>p</sub><sup>2</sup> = 0.06, <italic>n</italic> = 54], well-being [<italic>F</italic>(2.106) = 73.019, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001, η<sub>p</sub><sup>2</sup> = 0.17, <italic>n</italic> = 54], health literacy [<italic>F</italic>(2.108) = 9.067, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001, η<sub>p</sub><sup>2</sup> = 0.15, <italic>n</italic> = 55], and work performance [<italic>F</italic>(2.80) = 7.008, <italic>p</italic> = 0.002, η<sub>p</sub><sup>2</sup> = 0.15, <italic>n</italic> = 41] between <italic>t</italic>0 and <italic>t</italic>2. Significant differences between <italic>t</italic>0 and <italic>t</italic>1 were also found for well-being, health literacy and work performance, but not for mindfulness. Qualitative findings demonstrated positive training effects, barriers and facilitators to daily application of mindfulness practice.</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>The results suggest that compared to the beginning of the WMT, the post and follow-up measurements showed outcome improvements. The workplace mindfulness training may thus be a promising program to facilitate mental health and working capabilities among upper-level ICT-managers. Contextual workplace factors need to be considered to sustain long-term mindfulness practice of managers.</p></sec>