Purpose. Individual adaptability has been proposed as a source of adaptive
performance, an increasingly important performance dimension in dynamic contexts.
However, there is limited understanding of the antecedents of adaptability. Mindfulness
has been shown to improve performance and well-being in the workplace, but the
underlying mechanisms of this relationship are not well understood. Answering this
need, we hypothesize a link between mindfulness and adaptability and conduct an
empirical study to examined this relationship in dynamic work contexts.
Methodology and findings. 198 knowledge workers in dynamic workplaces
completed a self-rating survey that measured mindfulness and a multifactor measure of
individual adaptability. Correlation analysis found a significant positive relationship
between mindfulness and individual adaptability, and also between mindfulness and
five sub-factors of adaptability. Regression analysis found mindfulness could
significantly predict adaptability and that mindfulness added incremental variability to
various sub-scale factors of adaptability, over and above work stress adaptability. In
other words, mindfulness is not simply a stress management skill but also enhances
other aspects of adaptability such as learning and problem-solving.
Implications. Individual adaptability helps to explain the relationship between
mindfulness, performance and well-being in the workplace. Mindfulness-Based
Interventions (MBIs) have established protocols and proven outcomes in organizational
and psychological literature. It may be possible to enhance individual adaptability
through such MBIs and thus support adaptive performance while reducing negative
impacts on individual well-being. / Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / pt2019 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:up/oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/71700 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Johnstone, Rhys |
| Contributors | Wilson-Prangley, Anthony, ichelp@gibs.co.za |
| Publisher | University of Pretoria |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Mini Dissertation |
| Rights | © 2019 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
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