Decision Fatigue: What It Is and Why It Happens

 

When it comes to business, having employees that you can trust to make quality decisions is important. It’s equally important that these people are focused and clear-minded while at work. You might not know, however, that there is a limit to the number of quality decisions people can make each day. By educating ourselves and our staff about how willpower works, your team can have the tools they need to better fulfill their position and to make meaningful choices in their home life.

James Clear is a best-selling author, speaker, and entrepreneur who focuses his work on habits, decision making, and personal growth. He has a bachelor's in Biomechanics from Denison University ad an MBA from Ohio State University. An article written by him provides interesting insight into human willpower and how to avoid making bad decisions.

James shares that “willpower is like a muscle” that it fatigues the same way a muscle does. During a regular day, people make hundreds of decisions, and each decision we make is like doing one more squat on leg day. Just as your legs get tired and need to rest, a person’s willpower becomes tired with use. This is often referred to as decision fatigue. In a sense, there is a limited number of quality decisions that a person’s brain can make each day.

The next thing to know is that when a person's ability to make intentional decisions decreases, they default to their habits. For your company, this means that as your team deals with daily tasks, they slowly wear down on their willpower’s ability to make intentional decisions and default to established routines. The same things happen in an employee's personal life. Thus, decision fatigue often results in impulse decisions and unneeded grocery store purchases.

These unintentional behaviors lead to significant financial stress when people struggle to meet and keep to their budgets.

One way to help is to encourage making decisions in advance. For grocery shopping, this means sticking to a premade list. For a work environment, this means having very clear habits for routine tasks. Having these habits and premade decisions in place helps your people conserve their willpower for more important decisions.

In regard to financial decisions, education is key. When your employees have established financial habits and routines, it is easier to follow a budget regardless of their decision fatigue. It is easier to stick to their savings plans when they are predetermined. Even when decision fatigue is experienced, employees default to these formed habits, so it’s important to help build good decisions into regular routines.

If you notice that you or your team experience decision fatigue, there are ways to overcome it. James clear suggests 5 things that can help and goes into detail with each.

For more information on decision fatigue and how to make good decisions, refer to the full article here. As well, FFE offers various resources to help your team make smart financial decisions. Feel free to reach out for more information.

We are here to help,

Your Financially Fit Team