The Effectiveness of a Mindfulness-Based Boosting Intervention on Maintaining Work- Life Balance Among Young Employees at the Beginning of their Careers

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2022-07-08

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en

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Work-life balance (WLB) among young employees has been shown to affect the wellbeing of workers and their professional performance. The current study aimed to examine the factors playing a role in the WLB of employees in the first 10 years of their careers and establish the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based boosting intervention targeting employees’ WLB and self-efficacy in maintaining the WLB. Seventy-six workers participated in the first study examining the factors utilizing a cross-sectional design. The results indicated that individuals’ WLB is significantly influenced by their ability and self-efficacy in maintaining boundaries between the domains. The ability to maintain boundaries work and private life was further affected by prevalent social norms. The results additionally suggested that the frequency with which employees use technology devices outside their workhours for work-related purposes impacts their perceived job demands. With more frequent technology use, the job demands were perceived as being higher. These findings identified potential targets of future interventions. The second study utilizing a within-subjects research design evaluated the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based boosting intervention among young employees (N = 5). It was hypothesized that employees’ WLB and their self-efficacy in WLB will improve after the intervention. Results indicated an increase in participants’ self-efficacy in maintaining WLB, thus suggesting a positive influence of the designed intervention. Contrary to predictions, no statistically significant difference was found in employees’ WLB. Findings thus suggest mindfulness being a promising approach when targeting employees’ self-efficacy in WLB. Recommendations for future research are presented in the discussion. Keywords: work-life balance, mindfulness, wellbeing, intervention, behaviour change

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Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen

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