Mindfulness, resilience and the happiness of service employees working from home
ISSN: 0887-6045
Article publication date: 15 April 2024
Issue publication date: 25 April 2024
Abstract
Purpose
The work-from-home scheme (WFH) is increasingly being adopted in service firms. However, the blurred border between employees’ work and life can create work–life conflict (WLC) that negatively affects their well-being. Therefore, identifying factors that help employees overcome WLC and nurture their well-being is imperative. From a transformative service research (TSR) and personal psychology perspective, this study aims to explore the roles of service employee state of mindfulness and resilience in reducing WLC, alleviating its negative effects and ultimately nurturing their happiness.
Design/methodology/approach
A structural model was proposed. Data were collected from 339 WFH employees in various knowledge-based services such as professional services, information, education and training, financial consulting and marketing. Direct, indirect, mediating and moderating effects were estimated using the CB-SEM method.
Findings
Mindfulness is the overarching capability that helps reduce WLC and raise resilience. It nurtures WFH employee happiness not only directly but also via the mediation of resilience and WLC. Resilience, on the other hand, mediates the effect of mindfulness on happiness and moderates the negative impact of WLC on happiness.
Practical implications
Firms are recommended to organize mindfulness and resilience training programs, and encourage organizational- and job-related facilitators. WFH employees should actively participate in such programs and add them to their to-do-list practices.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first empirical studies of employee mindfulness and resilience in the WFH context. It contributes to the TSR research stream and enriches the concepts of mindfulness and resilience by elucidating different mechanisms in which each of these personal qualities operates to help employees nurture happiness in this specific working condition.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research is funded by Vietnam National University HoChiMinh City (VNU-HCM) under grant number NCM2019-20–02.
Citation
Le, N.-H., Mai, M.-Q.T. and Le, K.-G. (2024), "Mindfulness, resilience and the happiness of service employees working from home", Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 38 No. 4, pp. 460-473. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-03-2023-0109
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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