Threat and Reward – We See 5 Times More Threat Than We Do Reward

As humans we have an inbuilt negativity bias - we see five times more threats than we do rewards and this has implications when it comes to our ability to engage with, embrace and accept change in the workplace.

When it comes to the great questions in life, one of the most curious is why we appear to have a natural propensity to focus on negative thoughts and feelings more than positive ones. Have you ever had a performance review in which amongst a multitude of praise, one area has been highlighted for development, and when relaying how it went, all the good stuff is dismissed and the focus is firmly on the one negative? If this sounds familiar then you’re not alone.?As humans we have an inbuilt negativity bias. It is what has helped us stay alert to danger and survive as a species.?In fact it is estimated we see five times more threat than we do reward and this has implications when it comes to our ability to engage with, embrace and accept change in the workplace.

How do you get the best from your team when the threat response is activated??

Imagine your organisation is about to go through a restructure; naturally, a fear-inducing time for employees. It might be your job to rally the troops, introduce the new structure, and motivate your team to perform and flourish. Now the challenge will be how to get the best from your team when their fear or threat response has been activated, particularly in the knowledge that the threat is shouting five times louder than any reward.?

In a reward state, we are more motivated to engage and work with others

?We know that individuals will be more open to embracing and learning new concepts in a reward state. And that the reward response can only become active once the threat response has been minimised. In fact, once in a reward state our dopamine levels increase, leaving us feeling positive about our experiences and more motivated to engage and work with others.?

Conversely, the threat response diverts blood away from the pre-frontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for executive thinking, decision-making and emotional control.?When our threat response is triggered, we have less control over our emotions and are more likely to view the workplace as a hostile environment, resulting in disengagement and a drop in overall performance.

Ultimately, understanding how to access the reward response therefore is crucial to achieving results, embracing change and high-performance. Building on insights from the neuroscience community, in particular the work of Evian Gordon (2008) and David Rock (2008) we are now better able to predict what is likely to trigger a threat response and the ways in which we can minimise that.?At the same time we also have the means to upweight the reward response to improve the engagement and motivation of our teams and organisations in times of change or uncertainty.

Engage well for greater change success?

Change is constant and unavoidable, and as our working landscape shifts, we must be ready and able to respond to what lies ahead. Deepening our understanding of the impact of change on the human system and ways of navigating that opens the possibility of an ongoing awareness that can be harnessed for the future. We explore the concept of threat and reward and the implications for managing self and others through change in Engage Well one of five core modules in Minerva Engagement’s Brain-Friendly Change programme.?For more information on the programme and how to cultivate resilience in self and others for greater adaptability and agility click here, get in touch with us [email protected] or look out for our upcoming webinar series.?