Open Access

ARTICLE

How Do Mind-Body Practices Benefit Employees? A Daily Diary Study of Mind–Body Practices after Work and Employees’ Next-Day Proactive Behavior

Puwen Shang¹, Jinfan Zhou^2,*, Guanglei Zhang¹

1 School of Management, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China
2 Department of Human Resource Management, School of Business, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China

* Corresponding Author: Jinfan Zhou. Email:

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion 2023, 25(1), 45-62. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2023.026606

Received 15 September 2022; Accepted 31 October 2022; Issue published 29 November 2022

Abstract

Although it is becoming increasingly popular for organizations to offer programs of mind–body practices to their employees to improve their physical and mental health, the effects that after-work sessions of mind–body practices have on employees’ work behavior remain unclear. Using the model of proactive motivation and experience sampling, this study explored the relationship between employees’ mind–body practices after work and their proactive behavior in the workplace on the following day. A multilevel path analysis of data from 82 employees over seven consecutive workdays showed that employees’ mind–body practices after work had a positive effect on their proactive behavior in the workplace on the following day. The relationship was mediated by next-day high-activated positive affect and problem-solving confidence. Furthermore, job control positively moderated the relationship between high-activated positive affect and proactive behavior but not that between problem-solving confidence and proactive behavior. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings, and propose future research directions.

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Keywords

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