Habits: Their Effect on Canceling Out Training

Part 2 of They’ve Been Trained, So Why Do They Still Not Do (fill in the blank)?

In my previous blog I asked the question, “Why Do Employees Still Not Do What They’ve Been Trained?”  It’s been my experience that they are at least four common reasons why employees don’t do what they’ve been told.  The first one I want to focus on is habits. Habits are a behavior that we repeat and repeat without even thinking.  For all habits, the brain-body connection is well worn in.  We do it without thinking so to stop doing it requires us to think about it.

Take safe lifting as an example.  It’s pretty safe to say that nearly everyone has heard of or has been formally taught safe lifting and good body mechanics.  We know it’s safer for us to lift with our legs instead of our back.  However, the habit of most people

is to bend over and pick up an object.  In order to lift an object using the good body mechanics requires us to be mindful of how we move and act every time we have to pick something up.  And even if we are mindful and purposely use good body mechanics during normal times, what happens to our behavior when something abnormal happens, i.e. when we’re rushing.  As soon as we start to lose control over the situation, i.e. we must move faster, it becomes easy for us to revert back to our old habits.  We find ourselves bending over and lifting.

This is similar to a person who has quit smoking but all of a sudden has significant stress added to his/her life, maybe a family death, loss of job or financial issues. In order to cope with the stress the person finds themselves back smoking again.  Why?  Habit.  Smoking was something s/he did before that occupied time and his/her hands.  It’s commonly stated that it takes 21 days for a habit to be broken.  This “rule” was first mentioned in a book called “Psycho-Cybernetics.”  It’s a self-help book that was published in the 1970s.  It stated that you can create or break a habit in just 21 days.   I’m not sure I buy into that theory as changing the way people behave, as in smoking or how to lift safely, certainly can take much more time.  Everyone’s brain is different and habit formation varies with people’s experiences and environments.  Breaking a habit is complicated becausewhile parts of those worn-in pathways can weaken without use, they tend to never go away. This mean they can be reactivated with the slightest provocation.

What habits do you see at work or homes that aren’t “safe”?  What has been done to counter act them?

So, how do we deal with habits?  In my next blog we’ll explore how to approach habits from an ergonomics and human factors point of view.

Suzanne LeVert, Gary R. McClain (2001). The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Breaking Bad Habits. Alpha Books. ISBN 0028639863. http://books.google.com/?id=QYynTz-w-LQC.

http://news.cnet.com/MIT-explains-why-bad-habits-are-hard-to-break/2100-11395_3-5902850.html