Is primary appraisal a mechanism of daily mindfulness at work?

Abstract

In two studies, we examined primary appraisal as a potential mechanism of workplace mindfulness, grounded in the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping. In Study 1, multilevel structural equation modeling utilizing diary data from 58 employees across 5 working days showed that daily challenge appraisal mediated the positive relationship between mindfulness and high-activation positive affect, and daily threat appraisal mediated the negative relationship between mindfulness and high-activation negative affect. In Study 2, 69 employees participated in a randomized control trial comparing self-directed mindfulness training with a wait-list control. Latent growth curve modeling demonstrated that the intervention produced a greater increase in daily mindfulness relative to the control condition. In turn, the rate of change in daily mindfulness influenced the change rate of appraisal, and daily appraisal influenced affect, as expected. Together, these studies indicate one way in which mindfulness may help employees to thrive at work is by adaptively shaping the stressor appraisal process, and that connecting mindfulness training to primary appraisal may bolster the potential beneficial effects in the work context.

Running toward my challenges: Day-level effects of physical activity before work on appraisal of the upcoming workday and employee well-being.

“…Given the dependency of primary appraisal on situational and personal factors, there is substantial interindividual and intraindividual variation in primary appraisal. In line with this notion, primary appraisals have been found to fluctuate within short time frames, often from day to day (Casper & Wehrt, 2022;Jamieson et al, 2022;Mitchell et al, 2019). Building on these assumptions, we connect the transactional theory of stress to the literature on shortterm effects of physical activity to derive hypotheses on how physical activity in the morning before work relates to employee well-being on the same day.…”

“…In particular, we integrate physical activity before work as a situational predictor of primary appraisal of employees’ upcoming workday in the transactional process of work stress. Because primary appraisal has been shown to vary on a daily basis (Casper & Wehrt, 2022; Jamieson et al, 2022; Mitchell et al, 2019), we advance knowledge by shedding light on situational factors predicting daily fluctuations of primary appraisal. Third, integrating physical activity into the transactional theory of stress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) contributes to the literature on the effects of physical activity on employee well-being and organizational outcomes.…”

“…The transactional theory is particularly suited to guide our research as an overarching framework, given its central focus on the significance of employees’ work appraisals for their well-being. On the one hand, work appraisal processes have been found to be crucial to explain employees’ well-being (e.g., Jamieson et al, 2022; Kraimer et al, 2022). On the other hand, research also lends support that physical activity can change how employees appraise stress (e.g., Steptoe et al, 1998).…”

Integrating mindfulness into the extended process model of emotion regulation: The dual-mode model of mindful emotion regulation.

“…Notably, there is a growing body of research on affect labeling (one component of monitoring) as serving an emotion regulation function (Fitzpatrick et al, 2019; Lieberman et al, 2011; Vine et al, 2019), with mixed results (Ortner, 2015). Training in equanimity is thought to reduce emotional reactivity and improve cognitive performance on tasks with affectively valenced material (e.g., emotional Stroop; Anicha et al, 2012; Jamieson et al, 2022; Lindsay & Creswell, 2017; Teper & Inzlicht, 2013).…”

Integrating Mindfulness Into The Extended Process Model Of Emotion Regulation: The Dual-Mode Model Of Mindful Emotion Regulation

“…Notably, there is a growing body of research on affect labeling (one component of monitoring) as serving an emotion regulation function (Fitzpatrick et al, 2019;Lieberman et al, 2011;Vine et al, 2019), with mixed results (Ortner, 2015). Training in equanimity is thought to reduce emotional reactivity and improve cognitive performance on tasks with affectively valenced material (e.g., emotional Stroop) (Anicha et al, 2012;Jamieson et al, 2022;Lindsay & Creswell, 2017;.…”