Mindfulness and workplace safety: An integrative review

Mindfulness has recently gained popularity in applied settings to enhance workplace safety, especially in safety-critical occupations such as healthcare and construction. In this review, we synthesize existing research across disciplines to establish a theoretical model of mindfulness and safety. Based on 32 empirical studies, we first summarize and critically analyze how mindfulness and safety are conceptualized and operationalized in the literature. We then consolidate empirical findings and conceptual arguments and draw upon the job demands-resources model to propose a theoretical model linking the basic benefits of mindfulness to safety-related job demands. Specifically, we propose that mindfulness (a) improves detection of and responses to workplace risks and hazards, (b) enhances concentration and self-monitoring of safety behaviors in cognitively demanding situations, and (c) facilitates more adaptive responses to emotional burdens. We further propose that the mindfulness-safety link can vary across boundary conditions, including personal and contextual characteristics. Our theoretical model serves as a foundation to integrate existing knowledge and guide future research. We conclude by highlighting specific opportunities for researchers and practitioners to advance research and applications of mindfulness and workplace safety.