Work engagement and mindfulness: self-control as mediator : The mediating effect of self-control in the relationship between mindfulness and work engagement in teachers

Work engagement was found to have beneficial aspects for employers and employees. Recent studies have shown that mindfulness is associated with work engagement while it remained unclear how both constructs are associated. Research suggests that mindfulness may promote self-control which may lead to more work engagement. Therefore, the present study investigated whether self-control mediates the relationship between mindfulness and work engagement in teachers. A cross-sectional survey based design was used on a sample of 82 teachers who were recruited through convenience sampling and could choose between an online or paper-and-pencil version of the survey. The results indicated that mindfulness and work engagement were related while no relationship was found between self-control and either mindfulness or work engagement. Thus, self-control was not a mediator in the relationship between mindfulness and work engagement. Although no mediation could be found, it is still an important result for understanding how mindfulness and work engagement are related as this was the first study that measured all three constructs at the same time in teachers. In order to gain new theoretical insights, further research focusing on other mediators and underlying factors is needed.