A rudimentary definition of behavior modification is encouraging others to behave the way you want, while discouraging the kind of behavior you don't want. The workplace is the ideal setting to examine behavior modification because it occurs in practically all workplace interactions, whether employee-employee relationships, manager-employee relationships or employer-employee relationships. Behavior modification in the workplace is ideal for it produces more satisfied workers and increases employers' profitability.
Most companies have some form of disciplinary review process. Whether it's referred to as a progressive discipline policy, employee coaching or constructive feedback, the desired outcomes are the same: fewer employee issues and better job performance. Workplace policies constitute the first step in behavior modification. Most employee handbooks contain a description of the company's disciplinary policy and a set of guidelines, rules and policies to which the company expects employees to adhere. The consequences of behavior that runs afoul of company policy is explained in the handbook as well as in corrective action that supervisors carry out when they observe poor workplace behavior or poor job performance. Although too many workplace disciplinary policies perpetuate an adult-child relationship where an adult-adult relationship should exist instead, the end result is that discipline in the workplace modifies employee behavior.
Advertisement Article continues below this adThe practice of positive reinforcement in the workplace -- also called the "carrot principle" -- is a form of behavior modification that rewards employees for strong job performance, embracing the workplace philosophy and, essentially, creating a more profitable and successful business. Employers who practice this form of behavior modification generally reward employees with monetary and non-monetary recognition. Positive reinforcement supported by non-monetary employee recognition in the form of job promotions or plum assignments is one of the most effective forms of motivation, according to management consultant and professor Frederick W. Herzberg. Herzberg's two-factor theory concerning workplace hygiene-motivation factors is actually a form of behavior modification. Employee recognition begets motivation which, in turn, is a form of positive reinforcement.
Expectancy theory in the workplace is yet another form of behavior modification, albeit a complex form. According to Yale professor Victor Vroom's expectancy theory, employees engage in certain behavior because it produces a desirable outcome for employees, based on the three components of expectancy theory: "expectancy, instrumentality and valance." For example, an employee may maintain perfect attendance because she expects some form of reward. The instrumentality is that her employer promises that employees with perfect attendance will receive a reward. Valance, the final component, refers to the type of reward the employee receives, such as a gift card, a choice parking space or some other token of appreciation in addition to acknowledgment for her achievement. Nevermind that coming to work every day actually should be an expectation and not the basis for reward, expectancy theory in its truest form underlies behavior modification.
Advertisement Article continues below this adAccording to a study of more than 19,000 exit interviews conducted between 1999 and 2003, California's Saratoga Institute discovered that employees don't always cite compensation and benefits as the reasons they resign. They typically leave their jobs because of dissatisfaction that's based on workplace factors such as communication, ineffective leadership and lack of advancement opportunities. Nevertheless, compensation can be an effective form of behavior modification when employers connect performance to compensation in the form of salary and wage increases. Strong performance rewarded with annual raises and year-end bonuses are forms of behavior modification strengthened by an employer's compensation structure.
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