The following post has been taken from Dr. Perez and Dr. Pennypacker’s chapter, Engineering Work: Building Social Capital, published in Engineering the Upswing.
Engineering the Culture of Work:
In this section, we will briefly identify some of the important components that can facilitate the creation of a work culture that enhances safety, well-being, and, social capital. We will follow the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Future of Work initiative including; 1) the workplace culture; 2) the nature of work; and 3) the workforce. We will address the workforce in our next posting.
1) The Workplace Culture
Transformational Leadership: Transforming the Workplace Culture
In a behavioral engineering task, the behavior engineers must determine (1) what pinpointed behavior is to occur; (2) what stimuli (environmental conditions) are set to initiate the pinpointed behavior; and (3) what reinforcers are available to establish and maintain the behavior. The technology of contingency management deals with managing reinforcers and the technology of stimulus control with arranging stimuli that set the occasion for behavior to occur. A transformational leader works together with teams to pinpoint and identify needed changes in the work culture and behavior, creating a “vision” to guide change by arranging the stimuli for desired behavior and the contingencies to shape and reinforce behavior so that it evolves gradually toward the agreed-upon targeted behavioral objective.
It is essential to have a measurement system to monitor progress and guide any technology changes that may be necessary to keep on track. In that sense, everyone collaborates in the process of engineering the culture of work. The team ends up owning work as a group in the form of social capital. It is now mutually reinforcing. Quick and Tetrick (2011) report an established strong correlation between transformational leaders, work safety, job satisfaction, and workers’ health and productivity.
Systems Thinking
Transforming the work culture environment of a business requires intentionally evolving (shaping) changes in various systems and behaviors of the organization. Systems thinking is an approach to analysis focusing on the different components of a system related to each other and how the systems in place work within the context of other larger systems. It involves identifying the contingencies of reinforcement in the work environment sustaining the prevailing behaviors observed. Effecting social change involves policies and procedures and, most importantly, focusing on behavior change and what sustains it at all levels. Succeeding at transformational change is essential for most businesses today. Many who attempt it fail. It is an evolutionary process, slow and gradual. Still, the failure usually results from only focusing on the human factors in the work environment and not accomplishing the work of change together. Creating and having rewarding systems for self-organization rewards the employee and provides the nutrients for self-organization and becoming self-sustaining. The future of work depends on how we create a positive and sustaining workforce ecosystem that is human-centered. We will create a value-based work culture that builds and sustains human capital.
David Peter Stroh (2015 - Systems Thinking for Social Change: A Practical Guide to Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, and Achieving Lasting Results) provides steady guidance for applying systems thinking to address complex issues. One of the most significant lessons to learn when we set out to effect changes in social behaviors is that despite our best intentions, we need to plan and monitor the changes in behavior to avoid unintended problems that may evolve. We also need to learn how to deal with unintended consequences.
Social Justice and Equity
Zheng wrote in the online Harvard Business Review (June 15, 2020), “We’re Entering the Age of Corporate Justice.” She noted that Corporate Social Justice (CSJ) “centers the focus of any initiative or program on the measurable, lived experiences of groups harmed and disadvantaged by society.” One of the most important aspects of CSJ is that “it requires deep integration with every aspect of the way the company functions.” Zheng emphasized that “the need for this fundamental shift has become more apparent over the last few years.” As stated by Aveling and others in an online MIT Sloan Management Review article (December 21, 2020), “Racial justice and health equity demand an integrated approach that prioritizes internal coordination and collaboration.” This requires applying the Total Worker Health (TWH) approach and focused behavioral engineering to evolve toward social justice and equity. Guiding the business culture and the collaborative behavior of the stakeholders in reaching these objectives will go a long way toward healing our national culture. The behavioral objectives are the same: build collaborative behavior for the greater good based on ethics, respect, responsibility, trust, sharing, valuing and practicing social justice and equity, commitment to lifelong learning, preserving our health, aging with grace, concerns and proactive actions about the physical (Mother Earth) and social environment, and enhancing the future of humanity. That is how we can build a truly global community of collaboration and equity.
2) The Nature of Work
Performance Management: Transforming the Workplace
Thomas Gilbert introduced us to Human Performance Technology based on the science of behavior. He has provided us with a science-based foundation for the practice of improving human performance and defined human competence as a function of worthy performance measured in terms of accomplishments. His scientific contributions provide useful templates for human performance analysis and practice and opened the field of Performance Engineering. His methods have been applied to enhance students’ performance in schools as well as in the workplace.
Gilbert, in his book, Human Competence: Engineering Worthy Performance (2007), emphasized that performance is a function of an interaction between an individual’s behavior and their environment. Once the antecedents and consequences of a behavior are identified and the behavior has been defined in measurable terms, the Performance Engineering Model can be used to identify opportunities to systematically develop and then apply the managerially, controllable systems (i.e. contingencies of reinforcement/consequences) and other environmental factors in the work and/or school environment to enhance performance. If done right, dramatic results are often found.
Building Performance-Based Culture: Applying the Values of the Work Culture
Carl Binder is a long-established behavior analyst and the CEO of The Performance Thinking Network, L.L.C. The objective of the network is to bring the science of behavior into practices that enhance human potential. The focus is on developing leadership and management skills with a human touch. The network of practitioners is instructed in the use of measurement to make decisions that will continuously improve results. They apply a systems view where performance improvement and skills development are a consequence of multiple factors, not isolated events. The focus is to optimize the environmental conditions in the work context to enhance productivity with engagement and enhancement of well-being. They emphasize a commitment to real change in how the organization functions, i.e., the culture, not a simple solution to individual circumstances. They value the experience of the collective action of people thinking together to offer challenges and innovative ways for achieving worthy objectives. They are evolving the teachings of Gilbert by applying the science of behavior and human engineering to enhance human performance. You will find valuable science-based resources by visiting their website at www.sixboxes.com. The Performance Thinking Network, L.L.C. is only one of many resources on performance management.
Building Well-Being in the Workplace: Creating an Environment Conducive to Enhancing Health
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation created the Commission to Build a Healthier America. Their focus is that work matters for health. They note that work-related health problems have “significant human and economic cost for individuals and society overall.” A healthy work environment is intentionally designed by addressing and engineering practices to minimize any potential physical and emotional behavioral health effects and instituting fair and equitable management practices by creating work-related opportunities and resources. It is not only important to protect workers from physically hazardous conditions, but the expanded TWH emphasis is to integrate behavioral strategies that also create a culture that promotes healthier work and work environments conducive to personal well-being.
Burgard and Lin (2013) document how bad jobs lead to bad health, and how work and working conditions contribute to health disparities. They conclude their comprehensive review, “Finally, our understanding of the full scope of the association between work and health could be improved if researchers did not solely focus on exposures that harm health.” They encouraged researchers to study what creates the positive aspects of work by evaluating the role of the work environment, the organization culture, the specific work done, specific occupations, and other factors like bridging a life-work balance. Here is the challenge of the science of behavior - how can we engineer a healthy work environment that not only enhances the well-being of the worker and the family but also creates healthy collaborative relationships?
Work environments shape the health of workers and their families. The intentional behavior engineering approach focuses on how work affects health:
Physical aspects of work and workplace - building a safe climate.
Psychosocial/environmental aspects of work and how work is organized - building well-being.
Work-related resources and opportunities - building people-centered business.
The NIOSH website is an excellent source for educational information facilitating the development and implementation of a Healthy Work Design and Well-Being Program. TWH promotes well-being in the workplace by creating a work environment of safety through which safe work can contribute to higher levels of well-being. It is also important that the workplace facilitates work becoming meaningful (rewarding) and creates the occasion for personal growth.
Building Safety Climate: Safe Work
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the private industry sector, there were a total of 2,814,000 recordable injury cases in 2019. Of these, 888,200 resulted in days away from work, and there were a total of 5,333 work-related fatalities. Most of these statistics have remained unchanged now for many years. Such is the high cost of going to work in the United States.
The number one cause of work injuries is human factors. Most injuries are preventable with proper behavior-based practices. According to Kyle Morrison, in an article published in Worker Health and Wellness (May 1, 2013), being distracted at work is the major factor associated with injuries. Most of us do not think about getting injured in our jobs. The economic cost is high, but the human capital cost is higher. Too many people lose their livelihood while trying to make a living.
Evidence-based injury and illness prevention programs are essential to the proper implementation of a successful TWH environment. It is a proactive process that depends on transformational management leadership, successful worker engagement, pinpointing potential physical-environment and behavior-based hazards, implementing behavior-based prevention practices through education and training, an equitable and effective reward system in place, and evaluation with quantifiable measurement of safety practices effectiveness. It is an ongoing process modified based on quantifiable data.
Mathis and Galloway (2013) provide us with a framework to implement a safety culture that is evidence-based on the science of behavior-measurable practices. Mathis is the founder and CEO of ProAct Safety, which designs and implements behavior-based safety practices programs. ProAct Safety’s website provides excellent educational resources, including Hard Measurements for Soft Science: Behavior-Based Safety Has Evolved (2009). They have designed a behavior-based safety training program that focuses on observing and quantifying safety behavior practices by pinpointing the behavior associated with safety work, breaking down complex work behavior, and defining which multiple criteria of the behavior were required to rate the behavior as safe. True to any science, they emphasize the need to measure and operationally define the act of safe behavior. The measurement techniques they have developed have facilitated the evolution of Behavior-Based Safety practices.
E. Scott Geller is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Virginia Tech. His primary focus as a behavior analyst has been to develop behavior-based strategies to enhance public and personal safety. He is a Senior Partner of Safety Performance Solutions, Inc. and has been actively involved in training and consulting with businesses and industries in the application of behavior-based safety. He is the initiator of the Actively Caring for People (AC4P) movement, an initiative applying the science of behavior principles to teach individuals to build better lives for themselves and to spread it to other people. He emphasizes that work “culture is all about people.” The objective is to reward employees who engage in the behaviors that contribute to a strong culture of safety and well-being both on and off the job. Geller writes “In an actively caring culture, people look out for the safety and welfare of others with courage and compassion, enabling the achievement of an injury-free environment.” Working together for the common good has positive results. In addition, it builds social and human capital.
Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies: Behavior-Based Safety Accreditation
Timothy Ludwig is a former student of Geller and is now a professor at Appalachian State University. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies and serves as the Managing Commissioner of the Center’s Commission on Accreditation for Behavioral Safety. Behavior-based safety practices are the foundation of any effective and reliable safety program. Ludwig (2018) describes in behavioral terms the most common dysfunctional practices that permeate many work cultures. He notes, “The focus is to learn a better way to analyze the behavior of your employees to understand how they were put in a position to take the risk in the first place.” He focuses on developing functional practices instead, thus building a culture of collaborative safety.
Behavior-based and scientifically sound applications to address human problems are rapidly expanding. Increasing safety in the workplace as well as in our communities at large is a priority. Behavioral safety at work is an employee-driven continuous behavior improvement process. The workers are the primary stakeholders. It applies the scientific method to shape safe work behavior practices. It relies on measurement and monitoring of what workers do for safety. Decisions about safety practices are made based on data gathered. It recognizes and provides conditioned reinforcers for a worker's safety-related behavior, instead of just penalties for at-risk behaviors. Research has consistently shown the behavior-based approach to be cost-effective to implement. Behavior-change techniques are straightforward, relatively easy to learn and apply, and with practice and consequences, become a predictable and consistent default behavior of the worker. Behavioral observations and monitoring with measurements are the key to successful behavioral safety and are necessary for the maintenance of safe behavior improvements.
A business or industry can apply for accreditation, and after undergoing a review process, it can be recognized for its safety practices and exemplary long-term performance in the application of behavioral principles to workplace safety. It recognizes industry safety programs that meet principles of behavior-based safety standards. Accreditation requires the presentation of data documenting the effects of behavioral safety programs in the organization. It is a source of corporate pride and fosters workplace cohesion essential to maintaining a We atmosphere. On occasion, an accredited company can enjoy a reduction in accident insurance premiums.
Why is developing and maintaining a healthy work culture important?
For many reasons:
A positive work culture keeps employees engaged, motivated, and happy.
A healthy work culture promotes teamwork and collaboration among workers leading to better communication and cooperation within teams as well as between teams.
A positive work culture empowers the worker and increases the “ownership” of the workplace leading to sharing ideas, taking calculated risks, and thinking innovatively conducive to increased creativity and problem-solving.
A strong and positive work culture attracts top talent and contributes to retaining skilled employees.
A healthy work culture promotes work-life balance, reduces the sources of stress, and supports well-being. Workers tend to be happy with improved emotional and physical health.
A positive work culture enhances the company’s reputation, thereby attracting more customers and business partners.
Workers in a healthy work culture are highly motivated, engaged, and committed to their work, thereby enhancing safety, productivity, and performance. These behaviors contribute positively to the bottom line.
A work culture that values and practices integrity, ethics, and respect, creates an environment that reinforces and shapes the behavior of workers to be ethical in their actions and comply with company policies and procedures.
Developing and maintaining a healthy work culture is essential for fostering a positive and productive work environment, driving workers' engagement and satisfaction. This, in turn, enhances performance contributing to the long-term rewards for all parties
Pass it on and see you soon!
Francisco I. Perez & Faris R. Kronfli