B10.2
Tracks
Stream B
| Saturday, October 31, 2026 |
| 2:00 PM - 2:15 PM |
Overview
Mindfulness and WFC: Examining the mediating role of WE in the Ghanaian service sector | 15 mins
Presenter
ANNIE OWUSUA NKULENU
Mindfulness and WFC: Examining the mediating role of WE in the Ghanaian service sector
2:00 PM - 2:15 PMAbstract
Purpose
This study examined whether work engagement mediates the relationship between mindfulness and work-family conflict (WFC) and family-work conflict (FWC) among employees in Ghana’s service sector. By moving beyond direct associations, this study clarifies how and when mindfulness reduces work-family conflict, refines the understanding of work engagement's role in managing competing work and family demands, and uses job-demand resource and challenge-hindrance theories to enable theory-driven testing of how and when personal resources reduce role interference.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a three-wave time-lagged survey design, participants were conveniently sampled, and data were collected from employees who had worked in their organizations for at least six months in the service sector of Ghana. Two-weeks interval separated the measurement points. Specifically, data were collected on mindfulness and demographic characteristics of participants at wave 1. The participants who completed the survey at wave 1 responded to questions on work engagement (that is, wave 2); and finally, the participants who completed the survey at wave 2 responded to the questions on work-family conflict in wave 3. The study consisted of 250 matched samples. Structural equation modelling was employed to test direct and indirect relationships among mindfulness, work engagement, and work-family conflict/family-work conflict.
Findings
The results of path analysis indicate that mindfulness was negatively related to both work-family conflict and family-work conflict and positively to work engagement. Additionally, the results indicate that work engagement did not significantly predict work-family conflict and is not a significant mediating mechanism in the mindfulness-work-family conflict relationship. However, work engagement was negatively associated with family-work conflict and partially mediated the relationship between mindfulness and family-work conflict.
Practical implications
Organizations should adopt mindfulness-based interventions to directly reduce work-family conflict, rather than relying solely on work engagement. Engagement-focused strategies may be more effective in addressing family-to-work interference.
Originality/value
This study extends work-family literature by demonstrating the asymmetric mediating role of work engagement and highlighting mindfulness as an independent personal resource within the Job Demands-Resources framework, particularly in a Sub-Saharan African context.
Keywords: Mindfulness, work engagement, work-family conflict, family-work conflict, JD-R model, challenge-hindrance theory, Ghana
This study examined whether work engagement mediates the relationship between mindfulness and work-family conflict (WFC) and family-work conflict (FWC) among employees in Ghana’s service sector. By moving beyond direct associations, this study clarifies how and when mindfulness reduces work-family conflict, refines the understanding of work engagement's role in managing competing work and family demands, and uses job-demand resource and challenge-hindrance theories to enable theory-driven testing of how and when personal resources reduce role interference.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a three-wave time-lagged survey design, participants were conveniently sampled, and data were collected from employees who had worked in their organizations for at least six months in the service sector of Ghana. Two-weeks interval separated the measurement points. Specifically, data were collected on mindfulness and demographic characteristics of participants at wave 1. The participants who completed the survey at wave 1 responded to questions on work engagement (that is, wave 2); and finally, the participants who completed the survey at wave 2 responded to the questions on work-family conflict in wave 3. The study consisted of 250 matched samples. Structural equation modelling was employed to test direct and indirect relationships among mindfulness, work engagement, and work-family conflict/family-work conflict.
Findings
The results of path analysis indicate that mindfulness was negatively related to both work-family conflict and family-work conflict and positively to work engagement. Additionally, the results indicate that work engagement did not significantly predict work-family conflict and is not a significant mediating mechanism in the mindfulness-work-family conflict relationship. However, work engagement was negatively associated with family-work conflict and partially mediated the relationship between mindfulness and family-work conflict.
Practical implications
Organizations should adopt mindfulness-based interventions to directly reduce work-family conflict, rather than relying solely on work engagement. Engagement-focused strategies may be more effective in addressing family-to-work interference.
Originality/value
This study extends work-family literature by demonstrating the asymmetric mediating role of work engagement and highlighting mindfulness as an independent personal resource within the Job Demands-Resources framework, particularly in a Sub-Saharan African context.
Keywords: Mindfulness, work engagement, work-family conflict, family-work conflict, JD-R model, challenge-hindrance theory, Ghana
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Dr. Annie Owusua Nkulenu is an industrial and organisational psychologist, academic leader, and lecturer with over a decade of experience in higher education administration and teaching. She holds a PhD in psychology from the University of Ghana, where her research focused on the work–family interface and work outcomes, examining the roles of proactive personality, collectivism, and power distance. She also earned an MPhil in industrial and organisational psychology and has advanced training in child and adolescent counselling as well as marriage and family therapy.
Dr Nkulenu serves as Deputy Registrar (Academics) at Knutsford University, Accra, where she oversees academic administration, policy implementation, student records, and quality assurance processes. She is also a lecturer in psychology and related disciplines, supervising student research and mentoring emerging scholars. Her research has been published in reputable peer-reviewed journals, and she is an active member of professional psychological associations in Ghana and internationally.
