Have you have heard of the five second rule?
This is a ‘rule’ occasionally used by parents to justify not throwing items of food away that have been dropped on the floor, clearly stating to their children that it’ll be ok to still pick up and eat as it hasn’t touched the floor for longer than ‘five seconds’. Of course, it’s highly unlikely that this ‘rule’ has any grounding in scientific theory!
So how do processes, and ways of working become so commonplace amongst groups of people, to the point they become almost accepted fact?
How we as people make sense of the work around us, is built up over time and based upon many things including who we work with, national and local culture, societal norms and of course rules and regulations that we accept. However, norms don’t necessarily become norms instantly; accepted best practice, rules and regulations, ways of working can all drift from their original intent. One person can deviate or push the boundaries of acceptability a little and if groups of people do this over time, then established ways of working can move away from their initial position.
In the case of the ‘five second rule’, many may accept this as normal practise – finding reassurance in quoting the five second rule, alongside something like ‘it’ll be ok’, to justify their decision.
Sometimes, procedures and rules as defined can differ from how they are performed in the real world, by those at the ‘coal face’. They may have adapted the rule, stretched the rule, or have found ways of working that are now commonly accepted. Common practice (or ‘that’s how we do it around here’) can feel very much like an intended and compliant way of working, but of course may not relate to the original, as defined, way of working, and may have drifted quite a long way from the original intent – just like the five second rule.
Deviations like this can happen for many reasons; for example;
· A mismatch between the work design, and the actual environment, or the task as delivered within the real world.
· A set of unrealistic expectations surrounding human performance.
· The operating environment may have changed since the rule or process was designed.
· Unrealistic operating assumptions.
· Those performing the real work, may have received different, or refreshed training or indeed experience levels may not be the same as originally assumed.
· Resourcing levels may have changed, and/or have been reduced.
· The operating environment may have changed, such that the original process of working may no longer be possible - people may have developed 'workarounds'.
· Reduced oversight, or a mismatch between organisation and individual priorities.
Of course, it’s likely there will be many reasons – and this list is certainly not exhaustive.
If you’re wondering whether your people and their work are not aligning or delivering to the intent of the rules and procedures as designed, its key to try and understand the reasons why. Some may be listed above, and it could be that those performing the work are covering up for operational, production or organisational challenges elsehwere. It might be easier to perform a particular task in a different way, and other things may be indirectly or directly encouraging such a deviation.
In the case of the five second rule, not wanting to waste the food item is likely to be a powerful motivation, or perhaps there may be no food left if it gets thrown away! In the case of everyday work, motivations to deviate from procedures are everywhere – cost, productivity, task simplification, operational & time pressure, and organisational and local culture. Is it easier to do the right thing, or the wrong thing?
It might even be that the rule as designed is no longer acceptable for the environment for which it is being deployed. This is where human factors specialists can help – making sense of everyday work, looking to understand challenges, error potential, and of course job, task, and user satisfaction to improve individual and organisational performance.
Perhaps you have some five second rules in your workplace that need to be explored and understood?
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