We often find ourselves mired in unpleasant tasks. And the longer we do an unpleasant task, the more stuck we become — persisting even if there are opportunities to switch to more enjoyable alternatives that would achieve the same goal. For instance, think about the last time you struggled to type a long email on your phone rather than switch to your nearby computer, where you could complete the task more comfortably. Or consider the last time you painstakingly formatted a document by hand rather than using a readily available software that could automate the process. Or even reflect on the last time you had an hour to pass and spent it watching an unenjoyable TV show rather than going outside for a pleasant stroll.
While none of us want to over-persist in suboptimal approaches, research has uncovered some of the reasons why we do. People may overuse a solution once it has been learned, trying to apply it to future problems even when more innovative solutions exist. Once a method has been mastered, it’s often the first thing that comes to mind, blocking other approaches from being considered. This is one reason that experts sometimes have a harder time thinking outside the box.
Objectively, when an opportunity arises to reach a goal in a more enjoyable manner, one should seize the chance to do so. We all want to spend our time doing things we like, achieving our goals efficiently and enjoyably. And, as managers, we desire the same for our employees. After all, happier employees are more productive. Many companies are realizing the benefits of having a healthier and happier workforce, and are designing workplaces that make that more likely.
While attention is often given to uncovering methods that increase persistence in tasks, our research focuses on enhancing well-being by limiting over-persistence. Specifically, we examine situations in which people get “stuck” persisting in unenjoyable tasks, failing to switch to more enjoyable alternatives that would achieve the same goal. For instance, imagine you’re being paid to complete a survey. You start and find the survey task to be quite grueling. Part way through, you are given the chance to switch to a fun game for the remainder of the survey — while earning the same pay in the same amount of time (thus, achieving the same goal). Common sense would suggest you should switch. We predicted, however, that this would not always be the case. In a series of experiments with over 4,000 participants, we found that people commonly over-persist in tedious tasks despite opportunities to switch to something they prefer. We find this occurs because the more frequently or recently someone has done a task, the more easily the procedures needed to do that task come to mind. Once these procedures become top of mind — a state we call entrenchment — the easier it feels to simply continue the tedious task rather than switch to a different task they enjoy more.
Importantly, we also identified different ways to prevent entrenchment: reducing repetition, dividing one’s attention, or simply switching back and forth between different tasks. In other words, there are times when limiting or disrupting the attention one pays to a task may help them seize opportunities to switch to something that, while achieving the same goal, is more fun and enjoyable.
Entrenchment Decreases the Likelihood of Switching to a Preferred Task
We first ran a pilot study to examine whether participants who were automatically switched to a preferred task were more satisfied with the experience. Participants did 10 rounds of a task. For some, that meant 10 rounds of a tedious task: transcribing text that had been rotated 90 degrees to the right. Others did seven rounds of the tedious task and then were automatically switched to a fun word game for their last three. Participants who were automatically switched reported liking the survey more and found it more fun, pleasant, and less tedious, providing foundational evidence that participants who choose not to switch to their preferred task when given a chance in later experiments will have lower satisfaction.
Next, we established that, when given an opportunity to switch to a preferred task (one that participants had previously tested and indicated liking more than the tedious task), a significant subset of participants would fail to do so. Our null hypothesis was that 0% of participants would turn down the opportunity to switch to a more enjoyable task. That is, one would expect that when aiming to complete a survey, no participants would choose to stay with a tedious task when given the opportunity to switch to a preferred task at essentially no cost. Yet, in our experiment, once participants were on a roll with the tedious transcription task and given the opportunity to switch to a fun game they preferred, nearly a quarter chose not to.
Subsequently, we demonstrated that entrenchment grows over time: The more someone continuously repeats a task, the less likely they are to switch — even when the switch would be quite easy. Participants were assigned to the tedious transcription task and at different points during the study were given an opportunity to switch to the preferred word game. This opportunity came early for some, before they became entrenched; for others when they were moderately entrenched; and for another group when they were highly entrenched. We found that across all conditions a significant subset of participants (21%) chose to continue the tedious transcription task rather than switch to the game they preferred. Participants were also more likely to make this choice the more entrenched they were: 28% of high-entrenchment participants chose to forego the opportunity to switch compared to just 16% of low-entrenchment participants.
To better understand why people made this choice, we ran a similar study in which we asked low-, medium-, and high-entrenchment participants how it might feel to switch to the fun game. Participants who were highly entrenched said that switching tasks would feel more difficult than participants who were not as entrenched, motivating them not to switch. Put simply, the more one repeats a task, the more difficult it feels to shift gears and transition to something new — even when switching to a method that achieves the same outcomes in a more enjoyable manner.
Our additional studies further examined the reason why people get entrenched, and how to prevent it. Entrenchment increases with repetition and continuity — thus, limiting either decreases entrenchment. For example, having people switch between different tasks — thus breaking continuity — reduces entrenchment and increases switching. Participants who alternated between a tedious task and a fun task became less entrenched and were more likely to switch to the fun task compared to those who did the tedious task continuously. Similarly, we found that having participants multitask increased the likelihood they would make a change.
One could argue that there is a time and place for getting in a “flow state” and that there are benefits of doing so. Our experiments were designed, however, such that people became entrenched in an unenjoyable task (whereas flow is often reserved for enjoyable activities) and would be “equally efficient” whether they stayed or switched — but they would have a worse experience if they chose to stay. In this way, foregoing the opportunity to switch to a fun task was quite counterintuitive.
Strategies to Prevent Entrenchment in Daily Life
Given how natural it is to fall prey to entrenchment, how can individuals, managers, and organizations work to prevent it from worsening productivity and well-being? There are ways we can design our routines, at home and at work, to avoid entrenchment.
Both work and home life involve a multitude of entrenching tasks. Individuals and managers may consider using tools to prevent people from becoming overly engrossed in certain tasks, thus hindering their ability to choose preferred methods. For instance, when doing entrenching tasks at home or at work, we could set timers — or use an existing tool — that prompts us to either take short breaks or to switch tasks after a certain amount of time. Doing so could help prevent us from needlessly sticking with methods that are not only less enjoyable, but also potentially less efficient. Taking a short break in the middle of typing that long email on your phone may help you realize the benefit of finishing it on your computer.
Organizations could also encourage employees (via nudges, etc.) to alternate between an entrenching task and an activity that is good for their health — such as taking a short walking meeting — reducing the likelihood they become entrenched while also improving well-being. Similarly, organizations could offer employees access to apps, at no cost to them, that limit or block selected websites or platforms to help them resist the temptation of getting sucked in to social media (or similarly entrenching activities) during work hours (and employees could also use this approach in their personal lives to help with scrolling addictions). Many people are aware of how common entrenchment is and would likely appreciate the opportunity for external tools that help prevent it. Indeed, in a separate survey I ran with 100 adults, over half said they would be interested in such a tool if their employer offered it.
Getting stuck in ruts is ubiquitous — it happens to all of us and, as our research shows, can’t be completely avoided. However, being aware of our tendency to become entrenched — and the consequences it can have on our enjoyment, productivity, and well-being — is the first step in preventing it. By helping to explain why people sometimes over-persist, we unlock tools to help individuals and organizations prevent the pull of entrenchment, with the potential to improve individual and organizational health and well-being.
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