Introduction

Within the last decade, mindfulness, a conscious state of being non-judgmentally aware of and attentive to current experiences or present reality (Bishop et al. 2004; Brown and Ryan 2003) has received increased attention in the field of industrial and organizational psychology. In particular, numerous studies have examined the role of mindfulness for employee well-being (e.g., Glomb et al. 2011). These studies have hitherto mainly focused on investigating the relationship of mindfulness and well-being within individuals (Glomb et al. 2011; Hülsheger et al. 2013). Only recently, research has begun to take a look at the interpersonal correlates of mindfulness at work, in particular at the role of leader mindfulness for employee well-being (Reb et al. 2014). However, it is poorly understood how leader mindfulness relates to employee well-being. Particularly, the role of leaders’ behavior through which leader mindfulness might translate into employee well-being did not receive much research attention. To better understand the beneficial potential of mindfulness in organizations, it is important to examine the mechanism that links leader mindfulness to employee well-being. Mindfulness is a conscious state of being non-judgmentally aware of and attentive to current experiences or present reality (Bishop et al. 2004; Brown and Ryan 2003). As a multidimensional construct, it comprises different components, such as acceptance and non-judging of ongoing events, awareness of internal (thoughts, bodily sensation) and external (physical and social environment) stimuli, and openness to experience (Bergomi et al. 2014; Glomb et al. 2011). Mindfulness further involves a receptive, non-reactive stance towards both positive and negative experiences that allows a more objective observation of such experiences without attaching an evaluation to them (Hülsheger et al. 2013). Mindfulness has been conceptualized as a trait that varies from person to person (e.g., Brown and Ryan 2003) and as a state that fluctuates within a person (e.g., Hülsheger et al. 2014). Furthermore, empirical evidence suggests that mindfulness can be increased with training and induced through brief exercises (e.g., Brown and Ryan 2003; Long and Christian 2015). Within the last decade, a growing body of research has demonstrated the beneficial potential of mindfulness at the workplace. For example, it has been shown that employee mindfulness is positively related to positive indicators of employee well-being, such as positive affect (Giluk 2009), physical and psychological health (Glomb et al. 2011), and job satisfaction (Hülsheger et al. 2013). Moreover, studies indicate that employee mindfulness is negatively related to negative indicators of employee well-being, such as negative affect (Giluk 2009) or emotional exhaustion (Hülsheger et al. 2013). Recently, research has begun to investigate interpersonal correlates of mindfulness at the workplace. In an initial study, Reb et al. (2014) have demonstrated that leader mindfulness positively relates to different dimensions of subordinates’ well-being. In a second study, these authors have shown that subordinates’ psychological need satisfaction mediates the relationship between leader mindfulness and subordinates’ job satisfaction. However, these findings leave unexplained if leader mindfulness finds expression in leaders’ behavior through which leader mindfulness relates to subordinates’ well-being.