LAB PROJECTS
Mindfulness and Work
Mindfulness refers to various traits, practices and processes that share a common emphasis on the ability to be in the present moment through nonjudgmental attention and awareness. It involves the ability to pay attention to both internal (cognitions, bodily sensations) and external (environmental features, social interactions) stimuli and doing so in a way that does not evoke judgement or evaluation. Our lab is involved in several studies examining mindfulness. This includes testing a brief mindfulness-based intervention for healthcare workers, examining how mindfulness may enhance mentoring and other close relationships, how mindful parenting may relate to work-family outcomes, and exploring the intersection between mindfulness and acts of altruism.
Mentoring & Relationships at Work
The ECHO Lab is also interested in organizational mentoring. Dr. Eby’s research in this area has focused on both formal and informal mentoring, as well as the positive and potentially negative aspects of mentoring. An upcoming series of studies will examine how mentoring experiences relate to physiological indicators of health for both mentors and protégés using both laboratory and field-based methods. We will also be exploring how mentor and protégé mindfulness may enhance mentoring experiences for both individuals, and how the practice of mindfulness may improve relational functioning. Other on-going or planned projects focus on mentoring episodes and affective responses, relational turning points in mentoring, and how being in personal recovery from substance abuse affects relational functioning in work groups.
Occupational Health
Over the past decade our lab has been studying topics such as workplace stress and burnout at work. Much of this work takes a relational focus by examining how interpersonal relationships can be a source of both stress and support in the workplace. Recently we have been studying how occupational risk and stressors unique to the COVID-19 pandemic, including how workers are dealing with radical changes to the nature of work.
Work and Nonwork Life
The ECHO lab is also working on research related to how people manage and balance responsibilities inside and outside of work. This includes testing interventions to enhance work-family balance and research on caregiving relationships.