Theories of human behaviour
There are several competing philosophies that attempt to explain human behaviour. Each one of them has potential flaws and limitations. But when taken together, they can produce a rounded analysis that’s helpful. It’s one that leads us to analyse our habits.
Approached holistically, it’s likely that our behaviours are influenced by: our past experiences (psychoanalysis); intrinsic influences such as our values (self-determination theory); extrinsic influences such as the behaviours of others (behaviourism); and the dynamic interaction between our internal characteristics and extrinsic factors such as the environment we’re in (field theory).
All of these factors are born out of life experience, rather than being inherent at birth. The way we live our life, affects the way we live our life. And that includes the habits we develop.
Immediate factors affecting behaviour
Other factors that affect our behaviours include: how normal the situation is for us; and how much pressure we’re under at the time. The sense of urgency or danger we’re in, affects which part of our brain drives our actions. It could be our limbic system (our emotional brain) or our prefrontal cortex (our rational brain)?
Our limbic system provides an immediate, instinctive reaction, using base emotions such as fear and anger. It drives us to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Then our prefrontal cortex starts a more thoughtful and measured analysis, which can lead us to reach a very different conclusion.
Creating good habits can help temper our emotional brain and help our rational brain catch up faster. Bad habits can make a bad situation worse.
Good and bad habits
Our habits clearly affect the way we behave. They are influenced by all the intrinsic and extrinsic factors mentioned above. We have different habits for different situations. They are instinctive reactions, based on the patterns of behaviour we’ve previously developed. Some habits are helpful and others definitely aren’t. The good news is that we can replace our bad habits with good ones.
In a personal context, if we eat too many takeaway meals, it’s likely to adversely affect our physical health, our weight, our energy levels and our speed of thought. That kind of behaviour can become a regular occurrence, a pattern, a bad habit. It flies in the face of our base, intrinsic drive to protect ourselves. So this kind of habit is more likely to be driven by extrinsic factors such as time pressure, convenience, advertising and peer pressure. Eating healthily and taking regular exercise are good habits to replace this with.
In a work context, if we ignore or put off difficult tasks, rather than tackling them, that’s likely to lead to problems and heighten the pressure you’re under. Carrying the stress of unanswered emails or incomplete actions is risky for your organisation and can become debilitating for you. Ultimately, this kind of bad habit could cost you your job. By contrast, tackling difficult tasks promptly is a good habit. So is asking for help when you need it.
Replacing Habits
If we want to change our performance at work, we need to change our behaviours at work. To improve our behaviours, we need to change our bad habits.
We can change our habits by: changing our environment; improving our ability to cope under pressure; strengthening our ability to decide for ourselves, without falling to peer pressure; and changing our past experiences (by replacing negative ones with positive ones). These all take time and effort, but it will be worth it.
The role of employers
Employers need to pay constant attention to the work environment they’re creating. If they do, their employees will have better habits, better behaviours and a higher level of performance.
To engender those good work habits, employers need to ask themselves a series of questions. Is there both physical and psychological safety? Are there food, drink and toilet facilities for delivering the basic physiological needs? Are expectations reasonable? Is the level of pressure just right to create a flow state and drive peak performance? Are the rewards realistic, fair and reasonable? Is the culture inclusive. Are all the positive environmental factors properly protected?