Putting relational frame theory to work: current and future RFT research in organizational behavior management

Abstract

The workplace is a complex and ever-changing environment. The defining characteristic of all organizations is that individuals work together to achieve a common goal. Organizations depend on interconnected behavior by various people, because work is not produced in isolation (e.g., people work together to produce a product or service and deliver that to its customers). This interdependence is at the heart of the complexity of the influences on human behavior in organizations. Each organization has a unique culture, a set of values and practices that distinguish it from other organizations. These values and practices (e.g., recruitment, incentive schemes, performance appraisal systems, labor relations) contribute to the personal environment of each employee at each level of the organization. The contingencies within this personal environment determine whether an employee is creative, engaged, and productive, or frustrated, cynical and uninterested.