Reinforcement

May 10 2020
By: Terry L. Mathis

Behavioral scientists have told us behaviors that are reinforced are most often repeated. We have begun to realize that people do things for a reason or reasons, and those reasons are referred to as "influences." To understand why people do what they do, we need to understand what influences them to do it. To change what they do, we need to change or modify the influences.

As we begin to end the COVID-19 quarantine efforts, we need to manage the influences that will impact workers' decisions to return to work. One effective but underused method of identifying these influences is to simply ask. Asking workers what concerns they have about returning to work and addressing those concerns can influence the decision to return. While the pandemic has been concerning, it has also given many workers time off to stay home and feel safe. Some have even continued to receive pay or have gotten government assistance for staying home. These factors will also influence the decision to return or not. We owe it to our workers and each other to make sound decisions on returning to work but also to be aware of what outside factors will influence workers in making their decisions.