A recent study finds that hope appears to be more beneficial than mindfulness in helping people manage stress and stay professionally engaged during periods of prolonged stress at work. The study underscores the importance of looking ahead, rather than living “in the moment,” during difficult times.
Mindfulness refers to a person’s ability to focus their attention on the present in an open, curious, and nonjudgmental way. Essentially, the ability to be fully present in the moment.
“There’s a lot of debate about the benefits of mindfulness, but it poses two challenges when you’re going through periods of stress,” says Tom Zagenczyk, co-author of a paper on the work and a professor of management at North Carolina State University’s Poole School of Management. “First, it’s hard to be mindful when you’re experiencing stress. Second, if it’s a truly difficult time, you don’t necessarily want to think too much about the experience you’re going through.
“Since hope is inherently an attitude toward the future, while mindfulness is about appreciating current circumstances, we wanted to see how each of these two mindsets influenced people’s well-being and career attitudes during difficult times,” Zagenczyk says. “The COVID pandemic presented us with an unfortunate, but useful, opportunity to explore this topic. And we chose to focus on the performing arts, as that sector was hit particularly hard by the pandemic.”
For the study, researchers recruited 247 professional musicians from the MusiCares organization to complete two surveys, one month apart. The first survey was administered in September 2021. In addition to collecting general demographic data, study participants were asked about their thoughts and experiences at the beginning of the pandemic, from March to August 2020. They were also asked questions aimed at capturing their level of hope and awareness of the situation between September 2020 and March 2021.
The second survey was conducted in October 2021 and study participants were asked questions aimed at capturing work engagement, job strain, how positive their emotions were, and the extent to which they were experiencing distress.
The researchers then used statistical techniques to identify relationships between hope, mindfulness, and outcomes related to their personal well-being and attitudes toward work.
“Essentially, our findings told us that hope was associated with people’s happiness, whereas mindfulness was not,” said Kristin Scott, co-author of the study and a professor of management at Clemson University. “And when people are hopeful and happy, they experience less distress, are more engaged in their work, and feel less tension related to their professional life.”
“Being mindful can be tremendously valuable; living in the moment has its advantages,” said Sharon Sheridan, co-author of the study and an assistant professor of management at Clemson. “But it’s important to maintain an optimistic attitude, particularly during periods of prolonged stress. People need to be hopeful and mindful at the same time — holding on to the idea that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”
While the study focused on musicians in an extreme set of circumstances, researchers believe there is a message that is relevant to all sectors of the industry.
“Whenever we have high levels of workplace stress, it’s important to be hopeful and look to the future,” says Emily Ferrise, co-author of the study and a doctoral student at Clemson. “And, to the extent possible, it’s very valuable for any organization to incorporate hope and forward thinking into its corporate culture, through working conditions, organizational communications, etc.”
“All industries experience periods of high stress,” Zagenczyk says. “And all companies should invest in having happy, engaged employees.”