Nonattachment at Work on Well-being Among Working Adults in Hong Kong

OBJECTIVES: Nonattachment has been found to be a potentially important mental quality in mitigating psychological distress and promoting well-being across student and community adult populations. This study investigated the relationships between nonattachment and three workplace-related variables, namely control at work, psychological safety, and supervisor support, on mental well-being of a representative sample of working adults in Hong Kong. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional investigation using the data provided by 1008 working adults who participated in a population-based telephone survey. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to test how nonattachment may be related to mental well-being of working adults, with the relationship being mediated by three workplace-related variables. RESULTS: Results indicated that nonattachment was positively associated with flourishing. This association was mediated by perceived supervisor support and control at work. In addition, nonattachment was negatively related to depression and anxiety symptoms and the association was only mediated by perceived supervisor support. Psychological safety did not significantly mediate the effect of nonattachment on mental well-being. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides suggestive evidence that staff’s perception towards supervisors and level of control at work can bridge the relationship between nonattachment and employee well-being. Potential cultural nuance that may have contributed to the nonsignificance of psychological safety was discussed.