From Near to Far
Why, How, and When Mindful Leadership Can Benefit Subordinates' Family Members
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7514935 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Xingyu Feng (0000-0002-5359-2965, Faculty of Business and Economics Monash University Melbourne Australia, corresponding author), Yinbo Zheng (Department of Psychology University of Georgia Athens USA, corresponding author), Tianyi Long (0000-0003-1806-155X, Business and Accounting Discipline, Faculty of Arts and Society Charles Darwin University Darwin Australia), Ping Han (0000-0001-6025-1651, School of Management Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an China) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 476-496 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Organizational Behavior (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0894-3796 • E-ISSN: 1099-1379 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/job.70053 |
| OpenAlex | W7125951726 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 92 |
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
Experience sampling method · Experiential learning · Field (mathematics · Intervention (counseling · Mindfulness · Scope (computer science · Transformational leadership · Well-being · Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions · Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies · Workplace Spirituality and Leadership
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |