From the earliest days, workplace well-being programs have focused on encouraging healthy lifestyles and habits. There are different approaches, but in order to be successful there is one key dynamic that each and every program must include: the participants must possess the desire to adopt healthy lifestyles and habits. If someone doesn’t want to change, then even the best program in the world can’t make them.

When I first started working in the field of workplace well-being, I was leading behavior change programs. I remember facilitating a smoking cessation program that had about a dozen employees participating voluntarily. The participants fell into two distinct camps: those who came to the sessions enthusiastically, committed to embracing a tobacco-free lifestyle and those who sat in the room, arms folded across their chest with body language clearly communicating, ‘you can’t make me.’

What’s the difference?

Let’s face it, behavior change is hard for everyone, but there are certain attitudes adopted by those who succeed that those who remain set in their ways do not possess.

  • Readiness to Change. Before any behavior change can take place, a person must be ready. Behavior research has shown that when it comes to changing behavior, people move along a progressive scale of ‘readiness’: from not ready (“No”), to contemplation (“Maybe”), to preparing (“Plan”), to action (“Do”), to achieving and maintaining the behavior (“Keep Doing”).

 

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All too often workplace well-being programs assume everyone is willing and motivated to embrace the new behavior. And using my smoking cessation participants as the example, we know this is not the case. ‘One-size-fits-all’ programs are destined for low participation. To help employees advance along the scale of behavior change, begin with awareness and education programs that will help employees tap into their intrinsic motivation or their personal ‘why’ for making a change.

  •  Belief We Can Change. Research has shown that believing we can change is a key contributor to success. This is known as having a ‘growth mindset’ and it can strongly influence our ability to change our behavior. The contrasting mindset is called a ‘fixed mindset.’ An individual with a fixed mindset believes that a particular trait has been assigned to them and can’t be changed (I’ll always be a smoker, I can’t lose weight, I’m not a person who exercises).

Employees who never participate in workplace well-being programs may have a fixed mindset and lack the belief that change is possible. When we help individuals understand the elements of their behavior and the environment that they control, we can help move them toward a growth mindset where change is possible.

In a recent conversation with growth mindset expert, Eduardo Briceño, he explained, “A growth mindset is not about working hard, it’s not about persevering or experimenting. It is a perspective about the nature of human beings and whether we see people as being able to change or not. Our view of whether we need to be ‘a natural’ at something versus being able to continue to improve at it impacts how we perceive things, how we react to things, and most importantly, whether we actually behave like learners who continue to develop and support others in developing.”

How can we help develop growth mindset?

In the workplace, we have the opportunity to help people connect with what matters most to them. That may be creating a workplace that demonstrates core values as part of the culture. It may be developing policies and benefits that honor and support families. Perhaps it’s helping individuals find connection to a greater purpose in their work or in their personal lives.

Fostering a growth mindset in the workplace has far-reaching benefits to our well-being. Briceño elaborated, “A growth mindset helps us have better relationships because it helps us ask better questions, because we want to learn from others. It allows us to better listen to other people and that builds relationships. Positive relationships definitely contribute to our well-being.”

When we create these conditions for employees, they will see that the possibilities for themselves are limitless and they will thrive.