Self-compassion in organizations: A review and future research agenda

Burgeoning organizational research has begun to explore how self-compassion or the compassion individuals give to themselves in times of suffering may positively contribute to organizational outcomes. This review describes self-compassion and its theoretical underpinnings in a workplace context, systematically reviews the current empirical literature on self-compassion using samples of working adults, critically analyzes the current state of the literature, and provides recommendations for robust future research. In the process, we offer a dynamic, process-based conceptualization of self-compassion that aligns past research with current directions in organizational compassion and several suggestions for using a processual approach to improve theoretical and empirical rigor. We also guide future scholarly work surrounding self-compassion in organizations by highlighting fundamental research questions that could advance our theoretical understanding of self-compassion in organizational contexts.