From Near to Far: Why, How, and When Mindful Leadership Can Benefit Subordinates' Family Members

Abstract

Existing research suggests that mindful leadership shapes the way followers interact with other people in the workplace. This study illustrates the mechanisms behind this leadership function, extends it to nonworking domains, and clarifies why and how followers' family members can benefit from it. Based on the social mindfulness framework and social learning perspective, we propose that subordinates can develop social mindfulness (i.e., the disposition of being attentive to and considerate of other people's needs) through observing and internalizing the orientation toward the other that mindful leaders embody. Higher-level social mindfulness encourages employees to provide more social support at home, which further leads to a series of positive outcomes for family members, including positive affect, family satisfaction, and next-day work reattachment. However, employees with a weaker (rather than stronger) communal orientation are more likely to notice, recognize, and learn from mindful leaders. Consequently, their family members can benefit more (versus less) from the above processes. Two complementary studies, a field experiment involving a mindfulness intervention (N = 92 leader–subordinate pairs) and an experiential sampling study (N = 202 employee–family member pairs), fully support our model. We extend the scope and boundaries of mindful leadership to provide a fresh lens on how leaders can influence followers' nonworking lives.