It’s easy to spot undesirable behaviors in the workplace – tardiness, inadequate preparation, insufficient attention to detail, etc. But it’s not always easy to correct them unless the manager has at least a general idea of what drives the person’s actions.
Force Field Analysis
Force field analysis is a simple but powerful tool for understanding human behavior. Kurt Lewin described the model in his book, Field Theory in Social Science. Force field analysis is based on the idea that behaviors result from a set of forces working in opposite directions. That is, some forces tend to make the behavior happen while others work to keep it from happening. Further, the model assumes that both types of forces are always present. Force field analysis rejects the idea that behaviors are merely habits or that they have simple causes.
Driving and Restraining Forces
Forces that increase the probability of a particular behavior are called driving forces. Those that lower its probability are called restraining forces. For example, forces that drive a person to arrive at work on time might include fear of being fired, fear of supervisor criticism, group pressure from co-workers and concern over losing pay. Restraining forces might include lack of interest in the job, long lines at the time clock, family responsibilities, heavy traffic or too many late night parties.
Changing Employee Behaviors
The manager can change employee behavior by altering these forces in such a way that the desired outcome will occur. To accomplish this, three things must happen:
- The forces must be "unfrozen"
- Behavior must be changed in the desired direction
- The forces must be “refrozen”
Take, for example, an employee who habitually produces work with too many errors because he fails to proofread it. Driving forces for error-free work include the supervisor’s expectations, peer pressure and concerns that sloppy output may impact his performance rating. The primary restraining force is that multiple deadlines leave the employee insufficient time for proofreading.
In this case, the restraining force must be “unfrozen.” That is, the supervisor and the employee need to team up and find ways to allow more time for completion of the work. Solutions might include shifting some work to colleagues, helping the employee improve his skills (and speed) through training or the authorization of overtime.
The employee, in turn, must capitalize on the new situation and change his behavior. He needs to ensure that he always proofreads his work. The forces would then be “refrozen” in the new condition. For example, the supervisor would authorize overtime when work piles up.
The challenge for the manager is to identify the driving and restraining forces and alter them so that desired behavior results. In using force field analysis, some additional thoughts should be kept in mind:
- Current behavior won’t change unless the strength of the driving or restraining forces is changed
- The relative strength of the opposing forces produces the behavior; i.e., total restraining forces may be greater than total driving forces
- Behavior can be changed by either increasing driving forces or decreasing restraining forces
- If it’s not possible to change the strength of one force, the manager can concentrate on changing another one
- It’s usually better to attempt change by reducing restraining forces rather than by increasing driving forces; this approach results in less pressure on those involved and lessens the likelihood of unanticipated consequences
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