Houmanfar, Ch 8

Engagement Crisis in Modern Workplaces

• Gallup (2019) definition of active engagement: employees who are "involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work."
  • $34\%$ of U.S. employees met this criterion.
  • "Miserable work experiences" (active disengagement) observed in $13\%$ of U.S. workers.
  • Remaining $53\%$: "not engaged"—adequate satisfaction but no cognitive/emotional connection.
• Historical trend (Gallup 2000–2019):
  • All-time high active disengagement during the 2007–2008 recession: $20\%$.
  • Average disengagement since 2000: $17\%$.
• Observable markers of disengagement:
  • Small talk instead of task focus; ubiquitous smartphone usage; social-media posting on the job.
• Global data (155 countries):
  • $15\%$ engaged, $67\%$ not engaged, $18\%$ actively disengaged ⇒ ≈ $340\text{ million}$ actively disengaged workers.
• Public-sector analogue: nurses, police, teachers, government staff report coercive top-down controls → exodus from professions (Laloux, 2014).

Applied Contextual Behavioral Science (CBS) & Organizational Behavior Management (OBM)

• CBS + OBM can elevate performance, engagement, and psychological health simultaneously.
• Classic OBM toolset:
  • Performance Management (Daniels, 2000)
  • Goal Setting (Fellner & Sulzer-Azaroff, 1984)
  • Feedback (Johnson et al., 2015)
  • Behavior-Based Safety (Sulzer-Azaroff & Austin, 2000)
  • Severe Incident Prevention (McSween & Moran, 2017)
  • Behavioral Systems Analysis (Brethower, 2000)
  • Leadership Development (Daniels & Daniels, 2007)
• ACTraining provides an integrative platform, analogous to ACT in clinical practice, weaving CBS with OBM processes.

Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACTraining)

• Workplace derivative of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) (Hayes et al., 1999).
• Aims:
  • Increase engagement & performance.
  • Reduce burnout, stress, injuries (Moran, 2015a).
  • Accelerate leadership skills.
• Compatible with I/O Psychology initiatives.
• Delivered via strategic consulting, corporate trainings, executive coaching; formats include in-person workshops, phone coaching, smartphone apps.
• Core mechanism: cultivation of psychological flexibility.

Psychological Flexibility: Definition & Assessment

• Moran (2015a): ability to "contact the present moment while aware of thoughts/emotions—without being ruled by them—and, depending on context, persist or change behavior in pursuit of values & goals."
• Kashdan et al. (in press): "pursue valued life aims despite the presence of pain."
  • Development of the Personalized Psychological Flexibility Index (PPFI).
  • PPFI correlates positively with conscientiousness, openness, self-control; negatively with emotional dysregulation.
• Traditional ACT/ACTraining measures:
  • Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II) → measures psychological inflexibility; higher scores predict greater distress, absenteeism (Bond et al., 2011).
  • Work-related AAQ (WAAQ) (Bond et al., 2012): domain-specific; strong links to job satisfaction, vigor, dedication, absorption, task performance, lower neuroticism, stress, burnout.
  • Validated in Swedish, Spanish, Chinese samples with consistent psychometrics (Holmberg et al., 2019; Ruiz & Odriozola-González, 2014; Xu et al., 2017).

Empirical Links Between Flexibility & Work Outcomes

• Predictive studies:
  • Bond & Bunce (2003): higher flexibility ⇒ better performance & mental health.
  • Bond et al. (2011): computer workers with higher AAQ-II scores made fewer input errors; acceptance ↔ job satisfaction.
  • Bond & Flaxman (2006): flexibility predicted adaptation to new task demands and exploitation of goal opportunities.
  • Bond et al. (2008): flexibility ↔ greater perceived job control.
• Stress & burnout:
  • ACTraining RCT (Bond & Bunce, 2000) > control for stress reduction & psychological health.
  • Biron & van Veldhoven (2012): flexibility buffered exhaustion (Utrecht Burnout Scale).
  • Low flexibility predicts burnout (Vilardaga et al., 2011).
• Implementation studies:
  • Lloyd et al. (2013): three half-day ACTrainings ↑ flexibility ↓ exhaustion.
  • Flaxman & Bond (2010) meta-analysis: significant mental-health improvements, especially for high-stress employees.
  • Sector-specific successes: healthcare (Bethay et al., 2013), universities (Hosseinaei et al., 2013), early-childhood educators (Biglan et al., 2013), phone-delivered coaching (Luoma & Vilardaga, 2013), smartphone app for managers (Ly et al., 2014).

ACT Hexagon Model – Six Interlocked Processes

(Whole > sum of parts; OBM consultant blends all.)

Contact with the Present Moment

• All behavior occurs now; yet adults mind-wander $46.9\%$ of the time (Killingsworth & Gilbert, 2010).
• Mind-wandering ⇒ errors, unsafe acts, disengagement.
• Situational Awareness (Endsley, 1995):
  • Level 1: perception ➔ stimulus control/observing responses.
  • Level 2: comprehension ➔ tacting functions & chains.
  • Level 3: projection ➔ verbal prediction/generalization.
• Mindfulness practice develops present-moment attending under distracting events; generalizes to dynamic work contexts.

Values Clarification

• Wilson & Dufrene (2009): values = "verbally constructed consequences" that reinforce engagement intrinsically.
• Practical ACTraining questions: “What do you want your life/work to be about?”
• Values dignify acceptance of pain; reinforce persistence on lean schedules.
  • Example: Julie the lighting designer frames mundane tasks (bulbs, late hours) as reinforcing through value "illuminating the world."

Acceptance

• Defined as "actively contacting psychological experiences directly, fully, without needless defense, while behaving effectively" (Hayes et al., 1996).
• Not approval of external hazards; targets private events.
• Experiential avoidance (opposite) exacerbates problems (Boeschen et al., 2001).
  • Example: Kim the BCBA scrolls social media to avoid sadness, worsening productivity.

Defusion

• Reducing the literal control of thoughts over action; seeing thoughts as events.
• Mindfulness metaphors: "leaf on a stream."
  • Example: RBT thinking "I'll quit!" learns to observe thought without acting.

Perspective Taking / Self-as-Context

• Distinguishes self-as-content (judgments), self-as-process (ongoing evaluations), self-as-context (observer).
  • Example: woodworker labeling self "bad carpenter" learns to see statement as verbal event, not determinant.

Committed Action

• Measurable, values-consistent behavior change ("rubber hits the road").
• OBM synergy: pinpoint KPIs, measure rate/duration/latency/intensity, apply evidence-based reinforcement.
• Integrated application: willingness (acceptance) + present focus + defusion + perspective + values → sustained action.

The Mindful Action Plan (MAP) – User-Friendly ACTraining Tool

• One-sentence mnemonic: “I am here now, accepting the way I feel and noticing my thoughts, while doing what I care about.”
• Checklist anatomy:
  • "I Am" → Self-as-Context
  • "Here Now" → Present Moment
  • "Accepting" → Acceptance
  • "Noticing" → Defusion (simplified term)
  • "Doing" → Committed Action (To-Do List filled by employee)
  • "What I Care About" → Values (motivation write-in)
• Incorporates performance-management elements: resources, public commitment, accountability partner, incentives, deadlines.
• Delivery formats: corporate 2+1 / 333 model (two 3-hr workshops + 3-month booster), executive coaching, healthcare, sports, group therapy.

Case Illustration: Patricia (Clinic Owner) & Astrid (BCBA)

• Context: Astrid’s billable hours declining; Patricia avoids confrontation due to friendship.
• Scott (coach) uses OBM for systems, ACTraining for Patricia’s avoidance.
• MAP application:
  • To-Do List: script feedback, practice 5×/day, anticipate responses, rehearse replies.
  • Values: helpful, forthright, science-based.
• Obstacles addressed via ACTraining skills:
  • Perspective taking: “I am not that kind of person” → self-as-context exercise.
  • Present-moment focus: mindfulness homework.
  • Acceptance: imaginal exposure to anxiety + Quicksand metaphor.
  • Defusion: treating “Let sleeping dogs lie” as passing thought.
• Outcome: Patricia conducts feedback conversation; OBM contingencies re-established; relationship strengthened; engagement restored.

Practical & Ethical Implications

• Enhances individual well-being (lower stress, burnout) while aligning with organizational KPIs—a dual-benefit approach.
• Ethical workload: Acceptance never means acquiescing to unsafe conditions; targets inner experiences.
• Technological relevance: phone/apps extend reach; remote training feasible.
• Cultural sensitivity: WAAQ validated across languages; flexibility as universal construct.
• Leadership: psychologically flexible leaders absorb uncertainty, model adaptive behavior, foster innovation.

Key Numerical References (in LaTeX)

• $34\%$ engaged U.S. workers vs. $13\%$ actively disengaged.
• $53\%$ neither engaged nor disengaged.
• Global engagement: $15\%$ engaged, $67\%$ not engaged, $18\%$ disengaged.
• Active disengaged global headcount $\approx 340\times 10^{6}$ workers.
• Mind-wandering prevalence $46.9\%$ of waking life.
• ACTraining RCT evidence base: $> 300$ ACT clinical RCTs; dozens workplace RCTs.

Connections to Broader Literature & Principles

• Relational Frame Theory underpins verbal processes (fusion/defusion).
• Operant conditioning: values function as establishing operations altering reinforcing properties of tasks.
• Rule-governed behavior: inflexible rules ⇔ fusion; flexible rule use facilitated by defusion.
• Exposure therapy parallels: acceptance exercises conceptualized as contact with previously avoided private aversives.
• Performance Management: MAP embeds Daniels’ ABC model (Antecedent–Behavior–Consequence) via checklist.

Study Guide Prompts (Self-Test)

• Define active engagement vs. disengagement with workplace examples.
• Articulate psychological flexibility and its six ACT components.
• Describe empirical link between flexibility and at least two workplace outcomes.
• Provide personal illustration of MAP use for a prior job problem, specifying each checklist element.