Big five personality traits and work engagement: The mediating role of workplace spirituality

Abstract

Numerous academic studies have extensively examined the significance of workplace spirituality and its various outcomes. However, relatively few studies have examined its antecedents. This article aims to investigate a new antecedent of workplace spirituality and the mediating effect of workplace spirituality in the relationship among the Big Five personality traits, workplace spirituality, and work engagement. The sample comprised 489 employees from three organizations in Thailand that implemented a workplace spirituality development intervention known as Mindfulness in Organizations (MIO). The findings revealed significant positive relationships between each of the Big Five personality traits and workplace spirituality. Moreover, workplace spirituality fully mediated the relationships between certain personality traits—namely conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience—and work engagement. Workplace spirituality partially mediated the relationship between extraversion and work engagement, while no significant mediation effect was found between agreeableness and work engagement. This research makes theoretical contributions by identifying new antecedents of workplace spirituality, deepening the understanding of work engagement with workplace spirituality as a mediating factor, and validating measurement scales. From a managerial perspective, it proposes interventions aimed at enhancing talent acquisition, talent development, and employee engagement.