When it comes to large-scale change, it can take our cognitive processes time to catch up with our plans. How can we help our brains adapt to disruption?

Navigating changes to the way we work is an uncomfortable process for the human brain.

Leaders and employees can dedicate great time and effort to preparing for change, but what often holds them back is their own mindset. Our brain’s instinct is to tether us to the comfort of familiar routines and processes, and to see behavioural change as a threat to our sense of self.

However, holding on to traditional ways of thinking could mean getting left behind in the new world of work. As Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg once put it, “In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”

So if our cognitive reflexes are rejecting the thought of change, how can we influence our brains to adapt to a changing world?

How do our brains respond to change?

According to Peter Burow, Founding Partner and Chair of NeuroPower Group and author, our brain’s immediate reaction to disruption is a chemical shift in our mood.

“We’re happiest as human beings with routines,” he says. “When we feel confident with our place in the world, one of our brain’s core neurochemicals, serotonin, stabilises. Change any of those elements and we can disrupt our serotonin levels. Too much or too little serotonin can make us feel anxious or depressed.” 

Our brain’s sense of emotional stability operates on a simple rule of thumb – the thoughts, feelings and behaviours that have kept us alive in the past will keep us alive in the future.

“If, for example, we feel lonely, angry or anxious for an extended period of time, our brain encodes those emotions as part of what’s normal and keeps us alive,” he says.

“This results in the strangest quirk – feeling good about uncomfortable and often undesirable emotions. We get rewarded for habitual thoughts, feelings and behaviours, even if they are uncomfortable and, at times, counterproductive. The reason our brains don’t adapt easily is because, whatever the familiar past looks like, good or bad, these patterns are reinforced by feel-good chemicals. And when we step away from them, we literally experience withdrawal.”

As a result, employees are likely to feel some degree of stress and anxiety as a natural response to an industrial landscape that’s changing faster than ever. In order to keep this in check, there are steps that both employers and employees can take to boost their cognitive resilience.

Rebooting the system 

One of the reasons it’s difficult to rewire our brains for change is that we’re not usually aware of the thought processes that guide our reactions, says Burow. 

“The brain is designed to revert to screensaver mode to minimise energy usage, because when it’s fully engaged in high-level thought, it uses a phenomenal amount of energy,” he says. “You may recognise this, for example, when you’ve driven home and can barely remember anything about the drive.”

In order to coax our brains into breaking free of these autopilot responses, we need to identify the triggers that prompt us to feel or behave in a certain way, he explains. 

 “These patterns are reinforced by feel-good chemicals. And when we step away from them, we literally experience withdrawal.” – Peter Burow, Founding Partner and Chair, Neuropower Group

“It’s about becoming aware of the link between your external world and your internal world. This unique self-awareness about how our external environment impacts our thoughts and feelings is called mindfulness. As we get better at disconnecting the autopilot, we become much better at responding rather than reacting.”

Many organisations have already recognised the importance of mindfulness in improving employee resilience. Google is a great example. It launched an internal mindfulness course for its employees in 2007 called Search Inside Yourself, which aimed to help participants develop the skills of mindfulness, empathy and emotional intelligence to create conditions for individual and collective thriving. The program was such a success that it was eventually developed into an independent non-profit educational institute called the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute.

Replacing obsessive passion with harmonious passion

When leaders roll out change initiatives, getting employees on board is often their biggest hurdle. According to Burow, employees’ responsiveness to organisational change depends on how they are motivated. 

He refers to a 2003 study involving Olympic athletes, where researchers found a correlation between the source of athletes’ motivation and their long-term success. 

The study authors coined two new terms to describe two different types of motivation. Some of the subjects had pursued a sporting career because of a genuine love of the sport and a desire to succeed (which they called ‘harmonious passion’), while others were pressured by others into competing (‘obsessive passion’).

“We saw that the medallists who were forced into competing against their personal values and who were motivated by compliance and fear took more risks and found success post-medal much harder. It’s like, unconsciously, they lost their sense of true north,” says Burow. 

“Interestingly, we find exactly the same thing in a corporate environment. A culture where compliance, or the anxiety that comes from fear of non-compliance, is the only driver drains [people’s] energy and sense of self. The intrinsic joy of work is removed.”

In order to implement change without compromising employee wellbeing, leaders must learn to foster harmonious passion.

“Harmonious passion occurs when the intrinsic values of employees align with the way they are being asked to complete the task they’re doing.”

Essentially, employers need to find and develop the links between their business objectives and their employees’ personal goals.

“People come from all different walks of life, and diversity is increasing. The key lies in building the team’s shared aspirational identity,” he says.

“Maybe, aspirationally, the team wants to be the best in the market, or the fastest, or the most innovative. Finding those common aspirations is really important because that’s the meeting point. This higher-order identity is critical if the team is to lean in when the going gets tough.”

If HR professionals can help their leaders maintain a values-driven, team-based approach to change that fosters harmonious passion in their people, they can help overcome the brain’s reluctance to embrace new ways of working. 

Although adapting to disruption is often a personal battle, leaders must do everything in their power to protect the mental health of their workforces in these exciting yet unstable times. 

This article was first published in the May 2023 edition of HRM Magazine.

Peter Burow will be talking more about how modern ways of working impact our brains at AHRI’s National Convention and Exhibition in August. Secure your ticket today!