Psychological Flexibility and Readiness for Organisational Change: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Pilot Intervention

Abstract

In the last 20 years, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has become a widely researched form of behavior therapy used to effectively treat a multitude of psychological diagnoses. ACT promotes behavior change through the development of psychological flexibility, a construct defined by six core psychological processes: cognitive defusion, acceptance, contact with the present moment, self as context, values, and committed action. There is a robust body of literature providing evidence for ACT’s efficacy to affect positive behavior change. Given ACT’s effectiveness in promoting desired behavior modification and subsequent symptom workability across a range of clinical diagnoses, it is a logical progression that the principles of ACT are now being applied within organisational settings. Increased psychological flexibility has been associated with improved individual employee and organisational outcomes, and specific interventions designed to increase psychological flexibility have been utilised to improve leadership, employee stress and work performance. Despite this extension of ACT’s application into some organisational contexts, there are still some areas which are currently understudied. One particularly area of organisational performance where ACT is yet to be applied is change management. Readiness for change has been identified as a key factor in whether or not an intended organisational change reaches its desired outcomes. There are some theoretical links between mindfulness and readiness for organisational change, however specific studies investigating the relationship are minimal. Research examining the relationship between psychological flexibility and readiness for organisational change is warranted. Further, understanding whether ACT based interventions can increase readiness for organisational change would be valuable for businesses looking to prepare their employees for future workplace changes.