The impact of trait mindfulness on work engagement among primary and secondary school teachers: a moderated mediation model.

Work engagement not only improves teachers' job performance but also contributes to enhancing their students' academic outcomes and thereby promoting the latter's physical and mental development. Teacher mindfulness can affect work engagement. To clarify the relationship between trait mindfulness and work engagement and its underlying mechanisms, this study constructed a moderated mediation model based on the Conservation of Resources Theory (COR), specifically examining the mediating role of job satisfaction and the moderating role of perceived organizational support. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 3,225 primary and secondary school teachers using convenience sampling, and data were processed with SPSS and Mplus statistical software to assess their states of trait mindfulness, work engagement, job satisfaction, and perceived organizational support. The results showed: (1) Trait mindfulness positively significantly predicted work engagement; (2) Job satisfaction positively mediated the relationship between trait mindfulness and work engagement; (3) Perceived organizational support positively moderated the relationship between trait mindfulness and work engagement; (4) Perceived organizational support also positively moderated the relationship between trait mindfulness and job satisfaction, as well as the mediating effect of job satisfaction between trait mindfulness and work engagement. The findings deepen the theoretical understanding of the interaction mechanisms between trait mindfulness and work engagement and offer practical insights into enhancing teachers' work engagement through trait mindfulness.