Green Mindfulness, Remote Work Attitudes, and Green Creativity: Insights from a Chinese Higher Education Institution

HRMARS - Purpose: This study aims to examine the relationships between green mindfulness (GM), remote work attitudes (RWA), and green creativity (GC) among faculty members in Chinese higher education institutions. It explores how mindfulness fosters creativity and how remote work attitudes act as a psychological mechanism linking mindfulness and creativity within sustainability-focused academic environments. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative, cross-sectional survey was conducted with 435 faculty members from a Chinese university. Data were analyzed using SPSS and SmartPLS to test direct and mediating relationships among green mindfulness, remote work attitudes, and green creativity under the Resource-Based View (RBV) framework. Findings: The results reveal that green mindfulness significantly enhances green creativity and positively influences remote work attitudes. Remote work attitudes also have a strong positive effect on green creativity and partially mediate the relationship between green mindfulness and green creativity. These findings suggest that mindfulness promotes sustainable innovation both directly and indirectly through favorable remote work perceptions. Research limitations/implications: The study was conducted within a single Chinese higher education institution using a cross-sectional design, which limits causal interpretation and generalizability. Future research could adopt longitudinal or multi-institutional designs to validate the observed relationships and explore additional mediators such as organizational support or leadership style. Practical implications: The findings provide actionable guidance for higher education institutions. Universities can promote green mindfulness training programs, develop flexible remote-work policies, and implement incentive systems that recognize sustainable teaching and research. These initiatives can foster creativity, enhance faculty well-being, and advance institutional sustainability goals. Originality/value: This study integrates the concepts of green mindfulness, remote work attitudes, and green creativity under the Resource-Based View framework, providing a novel psychological perspective on sustainability-driven innovation in academia. By identifying remote work attitudes as a mediating mechanism, the study contributes both theoretical and practical insights into how higher education institutions can cultivate sustainable creative capacity.