Mindfulness for the mindful? Examining how trait mindfulness impacts daily energetic wellbeing and cognitive resources

Drawing on theories of trait activation and mindfulness-to-meaning, we investigate the ways in which trait mindfulness has its efects on daily outcomes. We propose that trait mindfulness operates via the mechanism of afect and is associated with higher daily positive afect, which is in turn related to better daily energetic wellbeing (higher vigor, lower fatigue) and cognitive resources (higher concentration, lower rumination). Additionally, we evaluated the moderating efect of a low-dose daily mindfulness intervention in the workplace compared to an active control on these relationships. We draw on data from employees in a large Irish public sector organization to test our hypotheses (1242 daily observations nested in 186 participants; nAC = 54, nMF = 132). Our fndings highlight positive afect as a daily mechanism through which trait mindfulness impacts daily vigor, fatigue, concentration, and rumination. In addition, the intervention moderated the indirect efects from trait mindfulness to these outcomes via positive afect, such that trait mindfulness had a stronger efect on these outcomes when individuals also engaged in a lowdose daily mindfulness intervention. This suggests a ‘rich get richer’ explanation for the relationship between trait mindfulness and low dose mindfulness interventions, indicating that such interventions may work as prompts to activate the trait for those with already developed mindfulness skills. Thus, our research challenges the notion of apriori need diagnosis when daily workplace mindfulness interventions are low in dosage and contributes to our current understanding of how mindfulness is benefcial in workplace settings.