Rev. Dr. Timothy Ewest, Associate Professor of Management, Prince-Chavanne Chair in Christian Business Ethics, and Chair of the Department of Management, Marketing and Business at Houston Christian University (HCU) was invited to be part of a panel of scholars at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management held this past August 4-8. The meeting was held in Boston, Massachusetts.
The panel, composed of invited scholars to discuss their research on revitalizing work, included Dr. Ewest, HCU, Joan F. Marques, Woodbury University, Ian Mitroff, University of California, Berkeley University, Chris Laszlo, Case Western Reserve University and Sandra A. Waddock of Boston College.
The panel considered how today’s work environments are far more complex than they were a few decades ago. There are several factors that have contributed to this trend, some of which are foundationally constructive, such as increased diversity in the workplace, rapid change, massive innovation and globally dispersed teams. At the same time, these developments require increased mindfulness. This symposium aims to underscore the importance of mindfulness practices amongst stakeholders in a work setting. Mindfulness is a universal human ability and does not require any particular religious or cultural belief system. Mindfulness has the ability to ignite positive changes within the practitioner through increased self-transcendence. This means, that mindfulness is beneficial to its practitioners in multiple settings. Gupta and Singh underscore a strong connection between workplace mindfulness, life satisfaction and individual performance, and subsequently encourage those making decisions in work environments to cultivate a tradition of mindfulness practices to enhance general employee and organizational wellness.
Utilizing a variety of proposed strategies, the panelists in this symposium combined their common advocacy for revitalizing work environments toward greater collective fulfillment. More specifically, the panel of seasoned scholars presented reflections on Buddhist psychology, systems thinking, prosocial leadership, quantum science, mindfulness and action-taking capacity.
Dr. Ewest contributed his research pertaining to mindfulness from a Christian and prosocial perspective. For more information, visit the Academy of Management website.