Well, this morning at ASSE's Safety 2014, Charles Duhigg certainly challenged my conventional wisdom on habit strengths. Building a habit without the right rewards leads to the equivalent of sleep walking at work. It starts with identifying keystone habits or what others might call triggers. Those habits are powerful levers that spill over to other habits. But, identifying keystone habits is not always easy as Duhigg explained with an example about the marketing of Febreze. I have often viewed the use of PPE as a trigger habit. It’s a daily and visible sign that indicates a basic understanding of potential hazards, and maybe even a willingness to accept new safety-related habits.
The reward is another key component of building strong habits that are often misunderstand or misused. Pizza lunches are a nice way to say thanks, but fall short of emotion and ultimately don't change or sustain a habit. Yet, we buy lots of pizzas with that intent in mind. The most effective rewards, Duhigg says, are rewards that contain or connect to our emotions. I don’t exactly get emotional when I eat pizza, although I am appreciative if someone else is buying. Identifying emotionally connected rewards isn’t easy either. Money, while nice, doesn’t work. Once it’s spent, it loses any connection to the habit that prompted the reward.
Since our personal and organizational habits are closely tied to our culture, how we change or establish habits falls somewhere close to the holy grail of safety. The right keystone habits coupled with rewards that contain or connect to emotions builds sustainable habit strength. So, I'm interested to know:
- What type of behaviors do you consider to be keystone habits in your operation?
- What are your most effective rewards that contain emotion?
Patrick J. Karol, CSP, ARM, is manager, safety and risk control with Aramark in Philadelphia, PA.
