Stress has a huge impact on productivity, staff morale and wellbeing, and employee turnover. With 65% people citing workload as the biggest cause of workplace stress and Infinite Potential’s 2024 State of Burnout Report showing that Burnt out employees are 68% less productive, it is clear that employers need to take action. But knowing where to start can feel overwhelming.
To begin to tackle this issue, we need to first understand what is actually going on behind the scenes. What is the root cause of the stress? Understanding the behaviours that are causing or contributing to the stress are key to making meaningful changes.
For this, we can use the B-MAP model.
Stanford University Professor BJ Fogg developed the B=MAP model to address a common problem in designing for behaviour change. In a nutshell, many behaviour change attempts had failed because people just didn’t understand the drivers of behaviour.
What is the B=MAP model?
The B=MAP model tells us that for a behaviour tohappen, three things need to be present at the same time. These are motivation(M), ability (A), and a prompt (P).
Motivation – is arguably the most importantingredient of effective behaviour change. If we’re not motivated to dosomething, we won’t do it.
Ability – we need to actually have the ability tocarry out the behaviour. If we don’t have the right resources when we needthem, we just won’t be able to do it.
Prompt – the prompt then is the key to unlocking thebehaviour. It is the trigger that tells us to carry out the behaviour. It spursus onto action.
Once we’ve understood how these three elements interact to facilitate behaviour, then we can start tofigure out what might be preventing people from carrying out particularbehaviours.
How can B=MAP encourage stress-free behaviours?
One of the most common causes of workplace stress isoverworked staff, due to an inability to cope with the demands of their role.This can be exacerbated by multiple daily interruptions that take employeesaway from their tasks to resolve other issues.
To apply the B=MAP model, we need to identify themotivation, ability and prompts in this scenario.
Is there motivation? The motivation for many here is likelyto be getting paid, achieving deadlines, and job satisfaction.
Do they have the ability? Employees have the ability to dothe tasks assigned to them, but due to disruptions all day, time to completetheir work is limited.
Is there a prompt? Daily progress meetings, reminders ofdeadlines, or a simple checklist showing closeness to task completion allserve to the behaviour.
In this example, employees stress is caused by theinterruptions in their daily work schedule that take them away from theirtasks. This impacts on their ability todo the behaviour as it impacts their resources.
To address this problem, employees’ ability to do theirtasks needs to be improved. One way to address this could be by allocating‘quiet times’ where employees can’t be interrupted, and introducing an emailquery system that can be accessed at allocated times. This would allow employees to get their workfinished on time. This results in much lower stress and better workplacemorale.
Can B=MAP be used for other behavioural issues?
B=MAP is a diverse tool that can be applied to a range ofworkplace behaviours.
You can use the model to introduce new behaviours, and toimprove engagement in others. Simply use the formula to identify themotivation, ability and prompt for your target behaviour. It can also be usedto help understand and stop unwanted behaviours in the workplace.
At BAD we regularly use the B=MAP model as well as otherbehavioural science-based techniques to uncover underlying behavioural barriersand develop targeted strategies and interventions to overcome these.
Using behavioural science in design processes cansignificantly enhance user engagement and satisfaction. By understanding userbehaviour and decision-making, we are able to better diagnose and influencebehaviours, overcoming a wide range of organisational challenges. Find out moreabout the benefits of using behavioural science in design processes or get intouch to chat about any key organisational challenges you are currently facing.
