Acceptance and commitment training in the workplace

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the workplace has become an important context for delivering acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) interventions. This article summarizes the evidence that has accumulated on worksite ACT-based training programs. Although these programs have been shown to be effective in improving employees' general mental health, their effects on job burnout and overall psychological flexibility have been less consistent. The authors respond to calls to provide clearer conceptualization of ACT's hypothesized influence on people's work-related well-being by considering the functions of psychological flexibility from the perspective of resourcebased theories of job characteristics, burnout, and work engagement. The article highlights opportunities for further workplace research and practice, including: exploring the predictive influence of psychological flexibility on the effects of job demands and job resources; the use of multidimensional measures of flexibility to investigate specific subprocesses of change in worksite ACT interventions; and the potential of cultivating flexibility as part of other organizational initiatives.