See where this is going in relation to workplace behaviours? Not yet? Hold on.
The next day I’m listening to The Sunday Edition on CBC radio and Michael Enright is having a conversation with Irish Senator Feargal Quinn, who happens to own Ireland’s largest chain of supermarkets. When the Irish government imposed a tax on plastic bags, Senator Quinn was greatly opposed. But since then, he’s become a convert and a huge fan of the tax which started in 2002. A mere 15 cents per bag translated into 94% of his customers shunning plastic bags and finding greener, more environmentally sustainable ways of carrying their groceries home. Now he’s trying to convince all European countries and grocers to follow Ireland’s lead.
These events didn’t happen by coincidence. They led me to think about your workplace and how little it takes people to change from (shall we say) bad behaviours, to good behaviours. Pessimists like me might think, “Oh, that Bob, he’s never going to change his ways”, or “Rajpal is close to retirement, why bother”, or “it’s not worth the effort – let’s just ignore him and maybe he’ll get the hint”.
Let me suggest that if consumers can change their ways over a measly 15 cents per plastic bag, then it won’t take much to change the behaviour of people at your workplace…if they are given the right incentive.
First, some of the “bad” behaviours, such as inappropriate jokes and comments, are not intentional at all, and once explained that they’re out of line, people will stop the bad stuff. Second, even when people do know what they’re doing is inappropriate, a simple comment from you can and will make a world of difference. If you don’t say anything, they know full well this means they’ve got the ok to keep on doin’ what they’ve been doin’. Third, speaking up and making positive change at work gives others the opportunity to speak up themselves. If they see a workplace leader putting a stop to inappropriate comments, employees will feel much more confident to say something, even when the boss isn’t around. It becomes catchy.
There is one more part of the equation that needs to be address. Consequences. When Senator Quinn first heard of the proposed plastic bag tax, he told the government minister all the things he and other grocers would do to get around it, such as paying the tax on behalf of their customers. At every suggestion, the minister came up with plans to counter anyone trying to get around their attempt to reduce plastic bags in the landfills. In other words, real consequences if they didn’t comply with the law. At first, Quinn wasn’t happy, but he quickly got on side and realized that without consequences, it wouldn't work.
At your workplace, vacuous words and threats are meaningless. I’m not saying anyone has to get disciplined, because if you lay out clearly what will happen with continued bad behaviour, people realize it’s not worth it. However, if someone calls your bluff, you better be ready with at least initial consequences. You don’t want to go overboard and violate policies and common law, but you want to make it stick. When we were young and our parents threatened that we’d go home if we acted up while out for dinner, we caught on pretty quick if it was an idol threat or the real thing. Lessons we learned as a kid are still appropriate as an adult. Employees will figure out quickly if you’re serious or not.
So the next time you want to change negative behaviours at work, try this:
·Identify the behaviour that needs changing
·Give an “incentive” to change the behaviour (positive or negative)
·Spell out consequences and carry through if the behaviour doesn’t change
After a weekend of hanging out with people much smarter than me and listening to people on the radio much smarter than me, I must have learned something. I won’t be a pushover, but I think I will be more optimistic that people can change, either on the environmental front, or the workplace front, if they’re given the right incentives.
Stephen Hammond, B.A, LL.B, CSP, is a speaker, trainer and author working in the field of workplace human rights. His book Managing Human Rights At Work: 101 Practical Tips to Prevent Human Rights Disasters, along with other tips and articles are available on his website www.stephenhammond.ca. Contact Stephen at 866-685-8338 or stephen@stephenhammond.ca Stay tuned for his new book, Steps in the Rights Direction: 365 human rights celebrations and tragedies that inspired Canada and the world. You are encouraged to forward or reprint the contents of this copyrighted article with this notation attached.
