Using RET Effectively in the Workplace

Abstract

Since the inception of rational-emotive therapy over 35 years ago, many professionals have recognized the application of RET to problems in the workplace. Needless to say, thousands of individuals have been helped by their therapists in dealing with problems relating to work. Helping individuals not to upset themselves with events at work, which they cannot change immediately, has always been a goal of rational-emotive therapists. Ellis in his book on Executive Leadership (1972) also proposed that effective managers develop what he labeled “Rational Sensitivity.” No doubt, RET can and will continue to help humans deal with problems at work in the confines of their office. However, rational-emotive therapy—or, as we have begun to label it, rational effectiveness training—is making a more direct contribution to the workplace by introducing the concepts of RET into management training, and into the development of “corporate cultures.” However, in order for the concept to be accepted, and to be effective in the workplace, it is important to understand that a change in focus is required from the traditional approach used in therapy. In this chapter, I provide several specific applications of RET to the workplace and discuss specific techniques that I have found successful in applying RET to the workplace.