The contribution of mindfulness to predicting burnout in the workplace

Research has found that burnout leads to depression, reduced productivity, and increased compensation claims. According to the Job Demands–Resources Model, staff start to progress through the first (emotional exhaustion), second (cynicism) and third (reduced professional efficacy) components of burnout when they perceive their workplace demands exceed their workplace resources and personal traits. Recent research suggests that mindfulness (a singular focus to the present with an attitude of acceptance) could be a new personal trait that buffers against burnout. The first aim of the present study with 381 employees was to test whether each of the five facets of mindfulness were significant predictors for the three components of burnout. The second aim was to test how effective overall mindfulness was at predicting burnout, when compared to other resources. Each component of burnout was analysed separately through hierarchical multiple regression. Mindfulness, personal traits, workplace resources and workplace demands were entered separately as blocks in the analysis. The results found that different facets of mindfulness predicted different components of burnout. The results also found that overall mindfulness was a new, unique personal trait that can be factored into the Job Demands–Resources Model. Clinical applications are discussed.