A study examining the relationships between empowering leadership, organizational inclusive culture, collective mindfulness and well-being in workplaces

Abstract

Nowadays, it is well known how the twenty-first century organizations are increasingly becoming multicultural and fast-paced environments. In this global vision, to be able to outperform exceedingly, successful companies must focus on employee’s well-being by promoting supportive behaviors in a positive and safe climate. The importance to establish an inclusive culture, encourage leaders to empower followers and improve efficient cooperation in teams, are essential elements to nurture people’s wellness in the corporate setting. On this basis, the aim of this investigation is to analyse how empowering leadership and organizational inclusive culture relate each to well-being and how those relationships are influenced by the team’s process of collective mindfulness. One hundred fifty-eight working adults living in the Netherlands participated on the online survey. Results confirmed the existing positive relationships between empowering leadership, corporate inclusive culture, and well-being, meaning that the more the employees perceive their leaders as empowering as well as an established inclusive culture within the organization, the better they feel (hypotheses 1 and 2). Contrary to the expectations, collective mindfulness did not moderate those relationships, denoting that the existing direct associations are not statistically stronger for higher levels of collective mindfulness perceived (hypotheses 3 and 4). Although further quantitative studies on this subject are required to contribute more empirical evidence, those last two hypotheses must be rejected. Overall, the present findings remark the importance of creating an inclusive and safe atmosphere as well as motivating leaders in supporting and empowering followers to be able to foster people's well-being in the workplace.