While recently watching the movie “Dinner for Schmucks,” I was reminded how peer pressure can impact our decisions.
In the movie, a corporate ladder climber learns that to seal the deal on his new promotion, he must compete with other executives at a monthly dinner party hosted by the boss to see who can bring the biggest idiot.
Paul Rudd, the actor who plays the guy after the promotion, hesitates initially and then promises his girlfriend he won’t participate, but then decides to go anyway when he stumbles upon the perfect schmuck. In truth, he has good ideas and deserves the promotion without such antics, but he wants to fit in and so he plays along. That’s peer pressure at its best.
Peer pressure can definitely cause problems in the workplace. For example, at your own business, you may worry about employees who won’t follow safety precautions because they see co-workers routinely ignore them. Or you may wonder if near-miss accidents go unreported because the workers who witness them fear how others will react. These types of concerns can lead us to take a negative view of peer pressure, but if you understand the way peer pressure works, you can actually use it for good purposes in your operation.
The Power of Positive Peer Pressure
Research published several years ago in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides some insight into the power of peer pressure, and why it makes us do or not do things that we may later regret.
The study found that a person’s yearning to have a good reputation is much more powerful than their desire for concrete rewards, such as cash. The study also concluded that positive peer pressure can be used in real world situations to do everything from increasing recycling rates to cutting carbon emissions.
The study analyzed the enrollment of thousands of California residents in a blackout prevention program. And what it found was that providing residents with a $25 cash incentive only increased sign-up rates by 3-4%, while making a person’s participation observable to others caused the rates to jump as high as 9%. Researchers estimated that it would have taken a cash incentive of $175 to get the same level of participation.
“We illustrate how making behavior that benefits society more observable can be a cheap, practical and effective way to solve real world public goods problems,” said Moshe Hoffman, a co-author of the study.
Observability Is Key
“When people know it’s a cooperative effort, they feel peer pressure to take part,” explained David Rand, a professor at Yale and another of the report’s co-authors. “They think, ‘If I don’t do this, I’m going to look like a jerk.’ But if it’s not observable, then there’s no problem with not participating.”
That’s why the researchers saw the highest signup rates when sheets were posted in apartment buildings where people lived, where their neighbors could easily see who had signed up. Sign-up rates were also higher when posted in apartment buildings where larger numbers of people lived and would see the sheets, and where people owned their apartments, instead of renting, meaning they took more ownership in being part of a community.
How Can You Use Positive Peer Pressure?
There are numerous ways to use positive peer pressure at work. One of the simplest and most straightforward is to ensure veteran employees model appropriate behaviors for newer employees. If everyone else is behaving a certain way, that will encourage new workers to follow their lead.
For voluntary programs or trainings, unless it’s something that should remain confidential, have employee sign-up sheets out in the open where everyone can see who has signed up and who hasn’t. This will encourage more workers to participate. It can also be helpful to have workers team up with others to promote positive behavior or changes.
Here’s another example: If you want employees to constantly have safety on their minds, have a contest to see who can come up with the best safety slogan, then take a company-wide vote on it. When you have your slogan, make signs to display in your plant, and make stickers that employees can put on their clothing each day. This visual reminder will help drive home the message. Just remember, positive peer pressure is a powerful tool for motivating the best behaviors and actions in your workplace. Don’t be afraid to use it.
