Psychological flexibility is rooted in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
ACT is a therapeutic intervention, aimed to progress personal values while navigating
the complexities and stress of life. Being able to do so not only aids psychological
flexibility but also mental health, and as such, psychological flexibility is viewed as an
essential ingredient of wellbeing. ACT interventions aimed to enhance psychological
flexibility by developing six interconnected skills: present-moment awareness, nonjudgemental
acceptance of thoughts and feelings, cognitive diffusion, seeing the self-ascontext
(rather than self-as-content), connecting with chosen values, and committed
action to values. While workplace research into psychological flexibility has
mushroomed in recent years, evidence from the clinical domain suggest issues for
organisational researchers. We discuss the findings of our systematic review in which
we examined the relationship between psychological flexibility and wellbeing in
organisation settings. Overall, 88 studies examined the relationship between
psychological flexibility and wellbeing in workplace contexts. Findings indicate a surge
in research since 2020, with psychological flexibility predominantly measured using the
Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), yet this measure is highly criticised
in the wider literature. Psychological flexibility research is concentrated in high-stress
professions, particularly healthcare, with limited exploration in leadership, governance,
and issues for wider organisational influence. Additionally, most studies focus on
mitigating the negative (burnout and psychological distress), rather than fostering
positive well-being, flourishing, and workplace thriving. Overall, several suggestions
are posited: we urge for clearer construct definition, longitudinal and intervention-based
designs, along with research designed to examine the role of leadership, employee
wellbeing, and self-determination theory. Our review highlights the need for a more
nuanced, workplace-specific understanding of psychological flexibility, and its impact
on leaders and employee wellbeing.