When Growth Means Reconsidering What Work Is For

A recent APA report on a career-focused intervention makes a useful distinction: feeling more able to act on your values doesn’t necessarily mean becoming more engaged in your current job.

In a randomized trial, participants in a seven-week, group-based program reported improved well-being and psychological flexibility compared with a waitlist. The researchers also reported no significant increase in career engagement. The study relied on self-reports and wasn’t designed to compare this approach with other interventions, so it’s a finding to consider—not a prescription.

That matters for growth: change doesn’t have to mean pushing harder in the same direction. Sometimes the useful step is to keep the value, then reconsider the role or routine meant to serve it.

Read the American Psychological Association’s report, published October 29, 2026. When a familiar path stops fitting, what helps you tell whether to revise the path—or your expectations of it?