Individual Research Paper

Do Mindfulness Practices Improve Performance in the Workplace?

Situation

A study published by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology conducted an experiment

in which workers were asked to reflect on a time they had harmed people. Throughout eight

studies, the participants were then instructed to engage in either a breath-focused meditation or a

loving-kindness meditation. It was found that workers who did the breathing meditation were

actually less likely to help the person they had harmed than those who did the loving-kindness

meditation or those who did not meditate at all. The concluding results described that when

taking ownership and rectifying a past mistake, breath-focused meditations may contribute more

harm than good (Hafenbrack et al., 2022).

Cultivating mindfulness in the workplace has experienced a surge in popularity over the past

decade. By implementing mindful meditation practices, companies naturally expect their

employees to exhibit better performance due to stress reduction, increased focus, and more

cognitive flexibility. Assumedly, these practices should result in increased compassion and

awareness. However, the study above outlined specific practices that led to decreased

performance – especially in roles where accountability is crucial, such as managers, teams, and

executives. This situation presents a strange phenomenon that was influenced by other puzzling

factors that are worth investigating.

Apply a Concept

This particular situation can be explained through two distinct types of emotional intelligence

abilities: self-awareness and other awareness.

Firstly, the idea of self-awareness refers to the ability of an individual to recognize and

understand the emotions they are experiencing (Colquitt et al., 2018, 98). Someone who is high
in this aspect is willing to acknowledge these feelings and are able to express them naturally.

Contrastingly, one who is low in this aspect may not admit their feelings to themselves or show

people around them what they are feeling. The mindful practice of breath-focus meditation aims

to train an individual’s self-awareness and to improve trust in themselves.

The second type of emotional intelligence is other awareness. This facet refers to an individual’s

ability to recognize and understand the emotions that others are feeling (Colquitt et al., 2018,

98). Those who are high in this aspect are able to be sensitive to the emotional experiences of

others and may even be able to anticipate people’s emotions in different situations. On the other

hand, those who are low in other awareness cannot effectively realize the emotions others

experience. Other awareness can be trained by using loving-kindness meditation techniques in

order to practice empathy, understanding, and conflict resolution.

All in all, these two facets of emotional intelligence clearly differ. While self-awareness is

focused on the individual’s self and their feelings, other awareness is focused on the emotions of

other people. The two ideas can be applied to the study of breath-focused meditation and

loving-kindness meditation. Those that engaged in the breath-focused meditation held a sole

focus on their emotions, reducing the guilt of their wrongdoing. This led to a decrease in

motivation to take accountability for their own actions. However, those that engaged in the

loving-kindness meditation held a focus on others’ emotions, training their understanding on

how others feel, and resulted in a greater sense of empathy and compassion. Participants were

better equipped to recognize the impact of their actions on others and were more motivated to

take responsibility and make amends.

Generalization

These concepts in emotional intelligence can be a variety of different settings, for instance, a four

person group project in a school. One member who exhibits high self-awareness, becomes

fixated on their ideas, believing their approach is the best and dismisses input from the other

group members. The other three group members, however, are more focused on understanding

each other's viewpoints. They actively listen to the others’ ideas, but also express their own

thoughts and concerns respectfully. The first member’s lack of other awareness eventually

hinders effective communication and collaboration, causing frustration among the other

members. Ultimately, the project results in a poor reflection on the group as a whole.

This situational example highlights the importance of both self-awareness and other awareness in

group projects. While self-awareness can empower individuals to recognize their strengths and

contributions, excessive self-focus can lead to conflict and decreased performance.

Managers and teams, in any educational or professional setting, can learn from the example

provided by prioritizing efforts to foster other awareness alongside self-awareness. While

self-awareness is valuable for understanding individual strengths and weaknesses, it's only one

piece of the puzzle when it comes to effective teamwork and collaboration. In the context of

mindfulness practices, it's essential to recognize that a one-size-fits-all approach, such as the

commonly used breath-focused meditation, may not address the diverse needs and dynamics of

teams. Instead, companies and students must be willing to invest their time in practicing methods

that cultivate both types of emotional intelligence: self-awareness and other awareness. As a

result, individuals can improve their understanding towards others, foster positive relationships,

and achieve greater success in both workplace and educational settings.

Boundaries

As articulated above, the idea of emotional independence – and lack thereof – holds true in many

real-life situations, but this may not always be the case in workplaces that do not require

extensive team activities or social interaction. For example, consider the field of software

development, where individual programmers often work autonomously on specific tasks within a

larger project. In this context, self-awareness can be crucial for identifying one's own strengths,

weaknesses, and areas for improvement in coding, problem-solving, and time management.

Individuals in this role require a high level of self-awareness to recognize when they are most

productive and what they are capable of. To illustrate, a programmer who is self-aware may

realize that they are more productive in the morning and schedule their most challenging tasks

during this time. While other awareness, such as empathy and understanding towards colleagues,

can still be valuable in a software development team, it may not be as critical as self-awareness

for individual programmers. Unlike roles that involve extensive interpersonal interaction,

programmers are able to effectively succeed in prioritizing self-awareness over other awareness.

When investigating different contexts, the incorporation of both self-awareness and other

awareness yields diverse outcomes and requirements for workers. Although most workplaces can

benefit from the consistent practice of both self-awareness and other awareness, some

workplaces seem to be able to succeed with the practice of just one form of emotional

intelligence.
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