Mindfulness at work (Glomb, Duffy et al, 2012) - Human Resources

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132THERESA M. GLOMB ET AL.feel that, then you’re not so angry because y you feel like, well, just try to help them.You know, just try to y make them smile and just pat them on the back, and try tomake their life a little less hard. That becomes the goal y being friendly and being kindand just understanding that this is really hard for them y kind of coming at it from theirpoint of view.– Mindfulness Meditator (Participant #3)Empathy is the ability to see life from another’s perspective. Empathyallows us to be attuned to others, to resonate with them, and to havecompassion (Cozolino, 2006). As suggested in the quote above, empathyenabled our interviewee to see how deeply wounded the students were. Ourinterviewee altered his/her behavior to better connect with them, offeringkindness and compassion rather than judgment. Through empathy,individuals are able to consider the larger social picture, moving out of‘‘survival mode’’ by considering what actions are best for others (Siegel,2007). How is mindfulness related to empathy? Building on a growing bodyof work, we see several links between mindful awareness and empathy via itslinks to decreased automaticity and decoupling and increased physiologicalawareness and regulation (Block-Lerner, Adair, Plumb, Rhatigan, &Orsillo, 2007; Brems, Fromme, & Johnson, 1992; Brown et al., 2007;Cozolino, 2006; Hughes, Tingle, & Sawin, 1981; Shapiro, Schwartz, &Bonner, 1998; Siegel, 2010; Tipsord, 2009).As the Dalai Lama (2002, p. 67) noted, ‘‘Ultimately, how we act andbehave in relation to our fellow humans and the world, depends on how weperceive ourselves.’’ With empathy, one must be able to simultaneously‘‘hold one’s own perspective in mind while simultaneously imagining what itis like to be the other’’ (Cozolino, 2006, p. 203). The ability to perceive theself as it is without the constraints of automaticity is a key feature ofmindfulness. Indeed, it is difficult for individuals to be aware of others’perspectives if they are unaware of their own. In essence, nonjudgmental,present-moment awareness (i.e., mindfulness) of one’s own internalthoughts facilitates empathy for the internal states of others (Block-Lerneret al., 2007). Through mindfulness generated meta-cognitive awareness,individuals can develop the capacity to understand their own internalemotional processes, which can help them better understand the emotionalprocesses of others (Teasdale et al., 2002). A cycle of mutual reinforcementdevelops where intrapersonal attunement promotes interpersonal attunement(Siegel, 2007). A growing body of social neurobiology researchindicates that our capacity to be attuned to others depends, in part, on ourknowledge of our own mind and internal state (Siegel, 2010).
Mindfulness at Work 133Second, a growing body of research indicates that physiological awarenessand regulation promotes empathy (e.g., Cozolino, 2006). In the process ofattuning and resonating with others, individuals use subcortical data (i.e.,heart rate, limbic system) to guide their responses. The act of empathyrequires individuals to experience, emotionally and physiologically, theinner experience of others. As part of the empathy process, the physiologicaland limbic systems send signals to the body and brain allowing individualsto literally feel what the other person is experiencing.Third, mindfulness increases our ability to tolerate negative emotions inourselves and others (Tipsord, 2009). Having true empathy requires atolerance for and regulation of the negative internal states of others andthose that arise in ourselves as a consequence. By observing and not reacting toour own negative states (i.e., decoupling) we can better tolerate our ownnegative states and the negative states of others. Without the ability to regulateour own negative emotional states, we can become flooded with the negativeemotions of others, limiting our ability to remain attuned and compassionate.Higher levels of empathy are clearly desirable for organizational membersat all levels (Kamdar, McAllister, & Turban, 2006; Patient & Skarlicki,2010). Organizational members who have higher levels of empathy for theircolleagues demonstrate higher levels of interactional justice (i.e., lower levelsof sexual harassment and antisocial behavior; Douglas & Martinko, 2001;O’Leary-Kelly, Bowes-Sperry, Bates, & Lean, 2009), informational justice(Patient & Skarlicki, 2010), organizational citizenship behaviors (Kamdar etal., 2006; Kidder, 2002), and positive leadership behaviors (Kellett,Humphrey, & Sleeth, 2002; Scott, Colquitt, Paddock, & Judge, 2010).Empathy may be particularly important in certain occupations that requiregreater compassion. For example, in one study of medical students, anMBSR training program increased self-reported empathy over preprogramlevels (Shapiro et al., 1998). Thus, if mindfulness can imbue employees withempathy, we would expect positive organizational and individual outcomes.Affective Regulationy just even being in a positive state of mind y you know, I’ve only been here two yearsafter being gone for ten and I hate winter and, just using a practice while walking to thebus of dis-identification with the experience of having it be twenty below, freezing, andit’s 5:30 in the morning. You know, I’d instantly just go to agitation. But the practice hastaught me just to watch it and even have a sense of humor about it y . If I go to the buswith agitation and I got to work with agitation, I’m not going to be very productive.– Mindfulness Meditator (Participant #2)
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