Work can be demanding, imposing challenges that can be detrimental to the physical and mental health of workers. Efforts are therefore underway to develop practices and initiatives that may improve occupational wellbeing. These include interventions based on mindfulness meditation. This paper offers a systematic review of empirical studies featuring analyses of mindfulness in occupational contexts. Databases were reviewed from the start of records to January 2016. Eligibility criteria included experimental and correlative studies of mindfulness conducted in work settings, with a variety of wellbeing and performance measures. 153 papers met the eligibility criteria and were included in the systematic review, comprising 12,571 participants. Mindfulness was generally associated with positive outcomes in relation to most measures. However, the quality of the studies was inconsistent, so further research is needed, particularly involving high-quality randomised control trials.

The literature on mindfulness has been dominated by the two leading schools of thought: one advanced by Langer and her colleagues the other developed by Kabat-Zinn and his associates. Curiously, the two strands of research have been running in parallel lines for more than 30 years, scarcely addressing each others' work, and with hardly any attempt to clarify the relationship between them. In view of this gap, this paper aims to systematically compare and contrast the two lines of research.The comparison between the two schools of thought suggests that while there are some similarities in their definitions of mindfulness, they differ in several core aspects: their philosophies, the components of their constructs, their goals, their theoretical scope, their measurement tools, their conceptual focus, their target audiences, the interventions they employ, the mechanisms underlying these interventions, and the outcomes of their interventions. However, the analysis also revealed that self-regulation is a core mechanism in both perspectives, which seems to mediate the impact of their interventions.In view of the differences between the two strands of research, we propose that they would be given different titles that capture their prime features. We suggest 'creativemindfulness' for Langer and her colleagues' scholarship, and 'meditative-mindfulness' for Kabat-Zinn and his associates' scholarly work.

Abstract:The purpose of the present study was to test the efficacy of an 8-week online intervention-based Positive Mindfulness Program (PMP) that integrated mindfulness with a series of positive psychology variables, with a view to improving wellbeing scores measured in these variables. The positive mindfulness cycle, based on positive intentions and savouring, provides the theoretical foundation for the PMP. The study was based on a randomised wait-list controlled trial; and 168 participants (128 females, mean age = 40.82) completed the intervention which included daily videos, meditations, and activities. The variables tested included wellbeing measures, such as gratitude, self-compassion, selfefficacy, meaning, and autonomy. Pre-and post-intervention data, including one month after the end of the intervention, were collected from both experimental and control groups. The post-test measurements of the experimental participants showed a significant improvement in all the dependent variables compared with the pre-test ones and were also significantly higher than those of the control group. One month after the intervention, the experimental group participants retained their improvement in 10 out of the 11 measurements. These positive results indicate that PMP may be effective in enhancing wellbeing and other positive variables in adult, non-clinical populations.

Self-actualization is described as an individual's expression of their full potential and a desire for self-fulfilment. It is the leading need in Maslow's hierarchical motivation theory (Maslow, 1943) which does not specify an age range for each level, believing that individuals progress through the hierarchy at different rates. However, he recognises older adults are more likely than young adults to be concerned with higher motivation (Maslow, 1970). Previous work has revealed that people over the age of 36 have a tendency to be concerned with higher motives and people under this age with lower motives (Reiss & Havercamp, 2005). This study looks at the influence of age on the level of self-actualization and discovered that on 8 out of the 12 Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) scales, participants over the age of 36 showed higher levels of self-actualization than participants under the age of 36. These results indicate the relevance of developmental issues in this matter and back up the hypothesis that there is a relationship between one's age and levels of self-actualization. However, results also showed a degree of overlap of self-actualization scores across age groups, suggesting further research may find other important factors, beyond age, which have a relationship with self-actualization.What allows people to progress toward advanced stages of self-fulfilment? In a society where an individual's growth is championed and cultivated, this question is increasingly attracting the interest of both employers and psychologists.Since the beginning of the twentieth century, psychologists have been developing the idea that human need can be classified into different categories (Johnmarshall, 2008;Langer, 1937;Schaffer, 1953), Maslow's (1943, 1970 hierarchy of needs is based on the idea that there is distinction between higher and lower motives and that there are "real psychological and operational differences between those needs called 'higher' and those called 'lower'" (Maslow, 1970, p. 97). Compared to lower, more physiological motives (such as hunger and sex), higher motives (such as altruism and morality) emerge at an older age, are less relevant to survival, and are closer to self-actualization.Maslow's work on self-actualization stems from that of Carl Jung (1928), who describes the process toward achieving self-realization. This is a state at which our unconscious and consciousThe authors report no fi nancial or other confl ict of interest relevant to the subject of this article. The study was conducted in compliance with an appropriate Ethical Code of Conduct.

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