Abstract
The current daily diary study among 60 dual-earner couples examined whether daily levels of mindfulness at work were associated with both the employees and their partners’ well-being. Based on the spillover-crossover model, we hypothesized that on days when the employees’ state mindfulness at work was higher, it would spill over to the home domain in the form of an increased state happiness at the end of the day and decreased work to family conflict. Furthermore, we hypothesized a crossover of mindfulness at work between the members of the couple, so that the partners of employees who were highly mindful at work would be more satisfied with their relationship. We examined all our hypotheses from a daily, within-person perspective. Participants filled in an online diary survey during five consecutive working days (N = 120 participants and N = 600 occasions). The results of the multilevel analyses showed a spillover effect from the employees’ state mindfulness at work to their state happiness and their spouses’ report of the employees’ work-family conflict. Moreover, we also found a crossover effect between mindfulness at work and spouses’ relationship satisfaction. Finally, results supported a partial mediation model in which daily mindfulness at work was positively related to the daily spouses’ relationship satisfaction and negatively to employees’ spouse-reported work-family conflict through the employees’ daily happiness levels. Therefore, these findings suggest that mindfulness at work influences not only the employee, but also affects the family domain by reducing strain at home and increasing relationship satisfaction.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, T. D., & Kiburz, K. M. (2012). Trait mindfulness and work-family balance among working parents: the mediating effects of vitality and sleep quality. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(2), 372–379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.09.002.
Allen, T., & Paddock, L. (2015). How being mindful impacts individuals’ work-family balance, conflict, and enrichment: a review of existing evidence, mechanisms and future directions. In J. Reb & P. W. B. Atkins (Eds.), Mindfulness in organizations (pp. 213–238). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Burke, R. (2009). Workaholism and relationship quality: a spillover-crossover perspective. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14(1), 23. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013290.
Barnes, S., Brown, K. W., Krusemark, E., Campbell, W. K., & Rogge, R. D. (2007). The role of mindfulness in romantic relationship satisfaction and responses to relationship stress. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 33(4), 482–500. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2007.00033.x.
Bauer, D. J., Preacher, K. J., & Gil, K. M. (2006). Conceptualizing and testing random indirect effects and moderated mediation in multilevel models: new procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods, 11(2), 142–163. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.11.2.142.
Bazarko, D., Cate, R. A., Azocar, F., & Kreitzer, M. J. (2013). The impact of an innovative mindfulness-based stress reduction program on the health and well-being of nurses employed in a corporate setting. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 28(2), 107–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/15555240.2013.779518.
Beach, M. C., Roter, D., Korthuis, P. T., Epstein, R. M., Sharp, V., Ratanawongsa, N., et al. (2013). A multicenter study of physician mindfulness and health care quality. The Annals of Family Medicine, 11(5), 421–428. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.1507.
Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(4), 822–848. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.822.
Brown, K. W., Ryan, R. M., & Creswell, J. D. (2007). Mindfulness: theoretical foundations and evidence for its salutary effects. Psychological Inquiry, 18(4), 211–237.
Byrne, B. (2011). Structural equation modeling with Mplus: basic concepts, applications, and programming. New York: Routledge.
Carson, J. W., Carson, K. M., Gil, K. M., & Baucom, D. H. (2004). Mindfulness-based relationship enhancement. Behavior Therapy, 35(3), 471–494. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(04)80028-5.
Crain, T. L., Schonert-Reichl, K. A., & Roeser, R. W. (2017). Cultivating teacher mindfulness: effects of a randomized controlled trial on work, home, and sleep outcomes. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(2), 138–152. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000043.
Dalal, R. S., Bhave, D. P., & Fiset, J. (2014). Within-person variability in job performance: a theoretical review and research agenda. Journal of Management, 40(5), 1396–1436. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314532691.
Demerouti, E., & Rispens, S. (2014). Improving the image of student-recruited samples: a commentary. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 87(1), 34–41. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12048.
Desbordes, G., Gard, T., Hoge, E. A., Hölzel, B. K., Kerr, C., Lazar, S. W., et al. (2015). Moving beyond mindfulness: defining equanimity as an outcome measure in meditation and contemplative research. Mindfulness, 6(2), 356–372. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-013-0269-8.
Fisher, G., Matthews, R. A., & Gibbons, A. M. (2016). Developing and investigating the use of single-item measures in organizational research. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 21(1), 3–23. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039139.
Fowler, J. H., & Christakis, N. A. (2008). Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study. British Medical Journal, 337, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a2338.
Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218.
Geurts, S. A., Taris, T. W., Kompier, M. A., Dikkers, J. S., Van Hooff, M. L., & Kinnunen, U. M. (2005). Work-home interaction from a work psychological perspective: development and validation of a new questionnaire, the SWING. Work and Stress, 19(4), 319–339. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370500410208.
Giluk, T. L. (2009). Mindfulness, big five personality, and affect: a meta-analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 47(8), 805–811. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2009.06.026.
Glomb, T. M., Duffy, M. K., Bono, J. E., & Yang, T. (2011). Mindfulness at work. In J. Martocchio, H. Liao, & A. Joshi (Eds.), Research in personnel and human resources management (pp. 115–157). UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Good, D. J., Lyddy, C. J., Glomb, T. M., Bono, J. E., Brown, K. W., Duffy, M. K., et al. (2016). Contemplating mindfulness at work: an integrative review. Journal of Management, 42(1), 114–142. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206315617003.
Greenhaus, J. H., & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Management Review, 10(1), 76–88. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.1985.4277352.
Greenhaus, J. H., & Powell, G. N. (2006). When work and family are allies: a theory of work-family enrichment. Academy of Management Review, 31(1), 72–92. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.2006.19379625.
Halbesleben, J. R. B., Neveu, J. P., Paustian-Underdahl, S. C., & Westman, M. (2014). Getting to the “COR”: understanding the role of resources in conservation of resources theory. Journal of Management, 40(5), 1334–1364. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314527130.
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: a new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513.
Hobfoll, S. E. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology, 50(3), 337–421. https://doi.org/10.1111/1464-0597.00062.
Hülsheger, U. R., Alberts, H. J., Feinholdt, A., & Lang, J. W. (2013). Benefits of mindfulness at work: the role of mindfulness in emotion regulation, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(2), 310–325. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031313.
Hülsheger, U. R., Lang, J. W. B., Depenbrock, F., Fehrmann, C., Zijlstra, F., & Alberts, H. J. E. M. (2014). The power of presence: the role of mindfulness at work for daily levels and change trajectories of psychological detachment and sleep quality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(6), 1113–1128. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037702.
Kroon, B., Menting, C., & van Woerkom, M. (2015). Why mindfulness sustains performance: the role of personal and job resources. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 8(04), 638–642. https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2015.92.
Kunin, T. (1955). The construction of a new type of attitude measure. Personnel Psychology, 8(1), 65–77. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1955.tb01189.x.
Lyubomirsky, S., & Lepper, H. S. (1999). A measure of subjective happiness: preliminary reliability and construct validation. Social Indicators Research, 46(2), 137–155. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006824100041.
Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131(6), 803–855. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803.
Malinowski, P., & Lim, H. J. (2015). Mindfulness at work: positive affect, hope, and optimism mediate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness, work engagement, and well-being. Mindfulness, 6(6), 1250–1262. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-015-0388-5.
Marzuq, N., & Drach-Zahavy, A. (2012). Recovery during a short period of respite: the interactive roles of mindfulness and respite experiences. Work and Stress, 26(2), 175–194. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2012.683574.
Mathieu, J. E., & Taylor, S. R. (2006). Clarifying conditions and decision points for meditational type inferences in organizational behaviour. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(8), 1031–1056. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.406.
McGill, J., Adler-Baeder, F., & Rodríguez, P. (2016). Mindfully in love: a meta-analysis of the association between mindfulness and relationship satisfaction. Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, 4(1), 89–101.
Montani, F., Dagenais-Desmarais, V., Giorgi, G., & Grégoire, S. (2016). A conservation of resources perspective on negative affect and innovative work behaviour: the role of affect activation and mindfulness. Journal of Business and Psychology, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-016-9480-7.
Ohly, S., Sonnentag, S., Niessen, C., & Zapf, D. (2010). Diary studies in organizational research: an introduction and some practical recommendations. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 9, 79–93. https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000009.
Preacher, K. J., & Selig, J. P. (2012). Advantages of Monte Carlo confidence intervals for indirect effects. Communication Methods and Measures, 6(2), 77–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2012.679848.
Rashbash, J., Browne, W., Healy, M., Cameron, B., & Charlton, C. (2000). MLwiN (version 1.10.006): Interactive software for multilevel analysis. London: Multilevel Models Project, Institute of Education, University of London.
Reb, J., Narayanan, J., & Chaturvedi, S. (2014). Leading mindfully: two studies on the influence of supervisor trait mindfulness on employee well-being and performance. Mindfulness, 5(1), 36–45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-012-0144-z.
Reis, H. T., & Patrick, B. P. (1996). Attachment and intimacy: component processes. In E. T. Higgins & A. W. Kruglanski (Eds.), Social psychology: handbook of basic principles (pp. 523–563). New York: Guilford.
Rothbard, N. P. (2001). Enriching or depleting? The dynamics of engagement in work and family roles. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46(4), 655–684. https://doi.org/10.2307/3094827.
Rusbult, C. E., & Buunk, B. P. (1993). Commitment processes in close relationships: an interdependence analysis. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 10(2), 175–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/026540759301000202.
Singh, N. N., Lancioni, G. E., Winton, A. S., Wahler, R. G., Singh, J., & Sage, M. (2004). Mindful caregiving increases happiness among individuals with profound multiple disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 25(2), 207–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2003.05.001Sonnentag.
Sonnentag, S., Binnewies, C., & Mojza, E. J. (2008). “Did you have a nice evening?” A day-level study on recovery experiences, sleep, and affect. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(3), 674–684. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.3.674.
Sutcliffe, K. M., Vogus, T. J., & Dane, E. (2016). Mindfulness in organizations: a cross-level review. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 3, 55–81. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-041015-062531.
ten Brummelhuis, L. L., & Bakker, A. B. (2012). A resource perspective on the work–home interface: the work–home resources model. American Psychologist, 67(7), 545–556. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027974.
Van Steenbergen, E. F., Kluwer, E. S., & Karney, B. R. (2014). Work-family enrichment, work-family conflict, and marital satisfaction: a dyadic analysis. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 19(2), 182–194. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036011.
Weinstein, N., Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). A multi-method examination of the effects of mindfulness on stress attribution, coping, and emotional well-being. Journal of Research in Personality, 43(3), 374–385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2008.12.008.
Westman, M., Etzion, D., & Danon, E. (2001). Job insecurity and crossover of burnout in married couples. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22(5), 467-481 doi:10.1002/job.91.
Westman, M., Brough, P., & Kalliath, T. (2009). Expert commentary on work–life balance and crossover of emotions and experiences: theoretical and practice advancements. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 30(5), 587–595. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.616.
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank two anonymous reviewers, whose valuable comments helped in improving earlier versions of this article.
Funding
This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports in the form of a predoctoral scholarship awarded to the first author (FPU014/05345).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
GMM executed the study and wrote the article. ARM designed the study, analyzed the data, and wrote part of the results. MA designed the study, collaborated with the analysis of the data, and wrote part of the results. FG collaborated in the writing and editing of the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
The procedures involving human participants described in this research were approved by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid’s institutional ethical committee and are in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
All participants in the study provided their informed consent about the nature and procedure of the current study.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Montes-Maroto, G., Rodríguez-Muñoz, A., Antino, M. et al. Mindfulness Beyond the Individual: Spillover and Crossover Effects in Working Couples. Mindfulness 9, 1258–1267 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0868-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0868-x