Research paper · RP21

‘Yet’ Is Not Enough

Growth-mindset programmes tell working adults that ability is not a fixed rank. A quality-adjusted reading of the adult-work trials is consistent with a null-to-small effect on performance and wellbeing, in the same band as Macnamara and Burgoyne’s high-quality student estimate of d = 0.02. This PRISMA-2020 systematic review asked what growth-mindset interventions do to adult learning, wellbeing and performance at work. We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, CTRI, ClinicalTrials.gov and OSF preprints from 2007 to September 2026. Eligible designs were randomised or controlled trials in employed adults or vocational trainees. Four published reports describing five adult-work samples met inclusion for narrative synthesis. A confirmatory random-effects meta-analysis was not possible: fewer than five independent trials offered a clean intervention-versus-control contrast on a pre-specified primary outcome. Proximal belief change was the only replicable signal. In two East-Asian employee samples the immediate shift in growth-mindset scores was about g = 0.47 to 0.50. Distal job satisfaction, flourishing and rated performance were null or confined to a dual-focus design that treated both the self and the job as malleable. A standalone slogan of ‘not yet’ did not produce lasting work outcomes. No eligible trial was conducted in India. Indian workplace programmes should treat the word ‘yet’ as a first rep, not a result. Pair the belief with a skill, a job-crafting plan and a countable practice. Certainty of evidence is low for belief change and very low for performance and wellbeing.