Bradley J. Brummel

Examining workplace mindfulness and its relations to job performance and turnover intention

In recent years, research on mindfulness has burgeoned across several lines of scholarship. Nevertheless, very little empirical research has investigated mindfulness from a workplace perspective. In the study reported here, we address this oversight by examining workplace mindfulness – the degree to which individuals are mindful in their work setting. We hypothesize that, in a dynamic work environment, workplace mindfulness is positively related to job performance and negatively related to turnover intention, and that these relationships account for variance beyond the effects of constructs occupying a similar conceptual space – namely, the constituent dimensions of work engagement (vigor, dedication, and absorption). Testing these claims in a dynamic service industry context, we find support for a positive relationship between workplace mindfulness and job performance that holds even when accounting for all three work engagement dimensions. We also find support for a negative relationship between workplace mindfulness and turnover intention, though this relationship becomes insignificant when accounting for the dimensions of work engagement. We consider the theoretical and practical implications of these findings and highlight a number of avenues for conducting research on mindfulness in the workplace.

The underreporting of self-reported symptoms following sports-related concussion

OBJECTIVES This cohort study was conducted to examine patterns of symptom reporting in concussed athletes in two different testing environments. DESIGN A prospective cohort study was conducted with repeated measures. METHODS Self-reported symptoms collected by team athletic trainers using the ImPACT Post-Concussion Scale (PCS) were compared to symptoms collected in a confidential setting using structured interviews for depression and anxiety. Ratings were scaled to match scoring of the PCS and categorized into symptom-domains. Scores collected 2 days post-concussion were compared across different rating scales. Confidential self-report scores approximately 9 days post-concussion in cleared athletes were compared to PCS scores collected during return-to-play decisions. Finally, confidential self-report scores collected 9 days post-concussion were compared between cleared and not cleared athletes. RESULTS Athletes self-reported significantly fewer symptoms to team athletic trainers using the ImPACT test compared to self-reported symptoms collected in a confidential setting during the acute phase of concussion using standard psychiatric interviews. Athletes cleared to play continued to underreport symptoms 9 days post-concussion, particularly psychiatric symptoms. Finally, cleared athletes self-reported similar magnitude of symptoms than non-cleared athletes 9 days post-concussion in confidential research setting. CONCLUSIONS The systematic underreporting of post-concussion symptoms may represent motivated behavior or differences in self-reporting data acquisition. By underreporting symptoms, many cleared athletes are still symptomatic over 1-week post-concussion. This study highlights the need for objective measures for somatic and psychiatric symptoms.

Development of Role-Play Scenarios for Teaching Responsible Conduct of Research

We describe the development, testing, and formative evaluation of nine role-play scenarios for teaching central topics in the responsible conduct of research to graduate students in science and engineering. In response to formative evaluation surveys, students reported that the role-plays were more engaging and promoted deeper understanding than a lecture or case study covering the same topic. In the future, summative evaluations will test whether students display this deeper understanding and retain the lessons of the role-play experience.

Investigating the role of the active ingredients in executive coaching

Abstract Several factors termed the active ingredients have been shown to play a major role in the success of psychotherapy. These ingredients have been theoretically extended to executive coaching, but the impact of these ingredients on coaching success has not yet been tested. This study examined the effects of three active ingredients on competency change in 30 coaching engagements. The results suggest that executive involvement, perceptions of developability and individual development plans are related to coaching success. Specifically, executives rated higher on these components indicated a greater degree of competency change. This study provides support for the use of the active ingredients framework within executive coaching engagements, suggests areas for future research and offers recommendations for practicing coaches.

Too Good to Be True? Understanding Change in Organizational Outcomes

When evaluating organizational outcomes, strong experimental designs are often not practical. As a result, assessments of change may be confounded by a number of threats to their validity. Therefore, attempts have been made to detect or control for many of these artifacts. This article explores a method for detecting response artifacts, using measurement and relational equivalence techniques. The large drop in the reported levels of sexual harassment in the U.S. military between 1995 and 2002 provides the context for testing this method. The results suggest that at least part of the reported decrease in harassment was artifactual. The implications for evaluations of organizational change are discussed.

Differentiating gender discrimination and sexist behavior: An examination of antecedents and outcomes

The United States Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) currently assesses gender discrimination and sexist behavior separately in its surveys of active duty and reserve service members. However, based on their definitional and theoretical similarities, it is possible that the two constructs may overlap to some extent. Using a military sample of 8,123 female respondents, this issue was examined using path analysis. The results of this study show that gender discrimination and sexist behavior are predicted by several common antecedent variables. In addition, each construct is shown to predict both common and unique outcomes. Implications for the organizational assessment of sexist behavior and gender discrimination are discussed.

Gender Perceptions of Managerial Positions: Implications for Work-Related Outcomes

This study examined gender-based perceptions (masculinity/femininity, agency/communion) in managerial competencies. Specifically, the authors explored the potential effects of these perceptions on competency ratings and subsequent organizational decisions. Archival data and data collected from adult employees with managerial experience indicated that women rated competencies as feminine, whereas men rated most competencies as neutral; however, feminine competencies were rated as most important for managerial jobs. Conversely, both men and women rated more competencies as agentic and rated agentic competencies as most important for managerial jobs. Although the ratings of competency possession for a hypothetical male and female applicant were not significantly different, the male applicant was recommended significantly more for promotion and selection. Implications for managers, including different types of rater training, are discussed.