Why clarity matters: The Bare Bones of Behavioural Mechanics.
Our day is essentially a series of choices. The number of decisions an average worker confronts in a workday vary based on the role, industry, and work environment. Research indicates that:
Quantity: On average, a worker might face 50 to 200 decision points each day.
Complexity: This range includes small decisions (like choosing how to respond to an email) and complex ones (like lots of moving parts, technical subjects and interpersonal strategies and tactics).
Cognitive Load: Studies indicate that the cognitive load from frequent decision-making can lead to decision fatigue, where the quality of decisions declines as the day progresses.
Context: organizational culture, clarity of roles, rules and systems dont shape impulses (e.g. thought crimes). But they add a set of filters that shape the subsequent choice (behaviour) - and over time will shape reflex choices (habits). Add these individual choices together, it then shapes norms. If these are tokenistic, incoherent, full of legacy, or sending mixed messages, what did you expect getting one piece right to achieve?
Clarity: determines whether up to 200 of those decisions are bad decisions
Interested in how this applies to changing workplace mindset, decisions and habits (subconscious decisions)? See the Elevator Briefing.
References and reading:
Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership (4th ed.). This foundational text outlines how organizational culture serves as a shared system of meaning that shapes behavior through norms, values, and role expectations. Over time, culture impacts how employees perceive and react to situations, guiding their decisions and eventually shaping instinctive behaviors.
Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Bandura’s theory emphasizes the role of external environments (such as organizational systems) in shaping behavior through observational learning and reinforcement. As employees are repeatedly exposed to cultural norms and expectations, their behaviors are shaped and become more automatic over time.
Schneider, B., Ehrhart, M. G., & Macey, W. H. (2013). Organizational Climate and Culture. In this paper, the authors discuss how organizational systems (like role clarity and rules) create behavioral expectations. When these structures are reinforced consistently, they guide behavior and eventually influence instinctive reactions to organizational challenges.
Cameron, K. S., & Quinn, R. E. (2011). Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework (3rd ed.). This book discusses how organizational systems (like roles and rules) serve as filters that influence how employees behave and think over time, leading to a shift in both conscious choices and unconscious, instinctual behaviors.
