In tough times, hope may be more powerful than mindfulness

RALEIGH, N.C. — “Mindfulness” has become the buzzword du jour for managing stress and boosting well-being in recent years. Now, a surprising new study suggests that for people facing prolonged adversity, hope may be the real superpower, especially when it comes to career challenges.

The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented crisis for workers across industries, but perhaps none were hit harder than those in the performing arts. As venues shuttered and live events ground to a halt, musicians, actors, and crew members saw their livelihoods vanish almost overnight. This presented a unique opportunity for researchers to examine how workers cope with extreme, prolonged adversity.

The study, led by researchers from Clemson University and North Carolina State University, set out to investigate which cognitive strategies were most effective for workers navigating the turmoil of the pandemic. They focused on two key approaches: mindfulness, which involves non-judgmental awareness of the present moment, and hope, which centers on envisioning and working towards positive future outcomes.

“There’s a lot of discussion about the benefits of mindfulness, but it poses two challenges when you’re going through periods of stress,” says Tom Zagenczyk, co-author of the paper and a professor of management at North Carolina State University, in a statement. “First, it’s hard to be mindful when you’re experiencing stress. Second, if it’s a truly difficult time, you don’t necessarily want to dwell too much on the experience you’re going through.”

The researchers partnered with MusiCares, a nonprofit that supports music industry professionals, to survey workers at two time points during the pandemic. The first survey in September 2021 asked participants to recall their experiences from the early and middle stages of the pandemic. A follow-up survey in October 2021 assessed outcomes like work resilience, job engagement, and stress levels.

Surprisingly, the study found that mindfulness – often touted as a cure-all for workplace stress – showed little benefit for workers during this period of extreme adversity. Hope, on the other hand, emerged as a powerful predictor of positive outcomes.

Workers who reported higher levels of hope during the pandemic showed greater work-related resilience and job engagement in the follow-up survey. They also experienced more positive emotions, which in turn predicted lower levels of job tension and distress.

“Fundamentally, our findings tell us that hope was associated with people being happy, and mindfulness was not,” notes Kristin Scott, study co-author and a professor of management at Clemson University. “And when people are hopeful – and happy – they experience less distress, are more engaged with their work, and feel less tension related to their professional lives.”

Hope springs eternal in the workplace

These findings challenge the popular notion that staying present and non-judgmental is always the best approach to difficult circumstances. When faced with major upheaval and uncertainty, the ability to envision and work towards a better future may be more valuable than simply accepting the current reality.

The researchers suggest this may be due to the cognitive demands of maintaining mindfulness during prolonged stress. As one’s mental resources are depleted, it becomes increasingly difficult to stay present without getting stuck ruminating on negative circumstances. Hope, in contrast, provides motivation and energy to keep moving forward despite challenges.

This isn’t to say that mindfulness has no value – previous research has shown it can be highly beneficial in many contexts. But the study highlights that different mental strategies may be more or less effective depending on the nature and intensity of the stressors involved.

“Being mindful can be tremendously valuable – there are certainly advantages to living in the moment,” says Sharon Sheridan, study co-author and an assistant professor of management at Clemson. “But it’s important to maintain a hopeful outlook – particularly during periods of prolonged stress. People should be hopeful while being mindful – hold on to the idea that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

For workers and organizations facing major disruptions or crises, cultivating a sense of hope may be key to maintaining resilience and engagement. This could involve setting meaningful goals, envisioning positive future scenarios, and identifying multiple pathways to achieve desired outcomes.

The study also underscores the importance of positive emotions in facilitating resilience. Hopeful thinking appears to boost positive affect, which in turn buffers against stress and burnout. Organizations may want to consider how they can foster more positive emotional experiences for employees during difficult times.

“Whenever we have high levels of job stress, it’s important to be hopeful and forward-looking,” says Emily Ferrise, study co-author and a Ph.D. student at Clemson. “And to the extent possible, there is real value for any organization to incorporate hope and forward thinking into their corporate culture – through job conditions, organizational communications, etc.”

Of course, promoting hope isn’t about toxic positivity or denying reality. It’s about maintaining the belief that improvement is possible and identifying concrete steps to work towards it. For performing artists facing an industry-wide shutdown, this may have meant pivoting to virtual performances, collaborating on new creative projects, or exploring temporary work in other fields.

As business sectors continue to face disruption and uncertainty, from pandemics to technological change, understanding how to cultivate resilience becomes increasingly crucial. This study provides valuable insights into the cognitive underpinnings of resilience, suggesting that a future-oriented, hopeful mindset may be our most powerful tool for weathering the storms ahead.