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Mindfulness older workers and relational leadership

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2022

Maree Roche Open the ORCID record for Maree Roche [Opens in a new window] ,
Sudong Shang ,
Tim Bentley ,
Bevan Catley ,
Kate Blackwood ,
Stephen Teo Open the ORCID record for Stephen Teo [Opens in a new window]  and
Anna Sutton
Maree Roche*
Affiliation:
Waikato Management School, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
Sudong Shang
Affiliation:
School of Business, Griffith University, Nathan, Australia
Tim Bentley
Affiliation:
School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Australia
Bevan Catley
Affiliation:
Massey University, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand
Kate Blackwood
Affiliation:
Massey University, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand
Stephen Teo
Affiliation:
School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Australia
Anna Sutton
Affiliation:
University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
*
*Corresponding author: E-mail: mroche@waikato.ac.nz
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Abstract

There is scant research examining both the psychological (individual) and leadership (environmental) influences on older workers. We firstly examine the influence of older workers' mindfulness on their job engagement, job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Secondly, we address effective leadership approaches for older workers, comparing two positive relational leadership styles, leader member exchange and leader autonomy support (LAS). We survey 1,237 participants from 28 organisations in New Zealand and employ structural equation modelling to test our hypotheses using AMOS 24.0. We find that mindful older workers enjoy greater wellbeing and are discerning of the leadership styles that most benefit their engagement, satisfaction and intentions to stay within the organisation. We find that mindfulness has direct importance and LAS has indirect importance on advancing the wellbeing of older workers. Mindful older workers exhibit greater work wellbeing than non-mindful workers, but they also demonstrate greater expectations and discernment of the leadership styles they encounter.

Keywords

Engagementleadershipmindfulnessolder workerssatisfactionturnover
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 29 , Issue 3 , May 2023 , pp. 571 - 588
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2022

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