Prolonged exposure to an organizational culture of learned helplessness (LH) increases the risk of anxiety and depression spreading through the entire company.

Is helplessness breeding in your organization?

Aug. 10, 2015
The good, bad and ugly of training.

Is learning all about what goes on in the classroom, or are there ancillary considerations that can occur outside of the classroom? Like my answers to such obscure questions that I have posed in some previous columns, once again the answer is: it depends.

However, in this instance, I am going to delve a bit deeper into the psyche of what we learn inside of the classroom and how it transcends out to the attitudes of the organization.

LH

There is a concept called learned helplessness or more colloquially called LH. Noted psychologist Dr. Martin Seligman conceived the LH term in the 1970s. It describes a psychological condition by which a person learns to behave helplessly.

LH has many social and personal psychological ramifications, primarily as many of us like to think that we have a sense of mastery of our environment. This is also an important foundation for development and learning. However, as an established condition, LH indicates the exact opposite; a lack of control over one’s surroundings.

This occurs as a result of an accumulation of negative events occurring over time that persuades many that they are the root cause of these events. Soon, helplessness causes some people to react to negative events thinking: “I’ll never be any good at this,” “People just don’t like me” or “I can’t do this.”

In progression, based on a preconditioning of negativity, futility sets in and a learned pattern of helplessness takes over. Individuals learn to become helpless.

Negative Attitudes

What does this have to do with learning from a training and development perspective? In one aspect, an organization is only as effective as its people. When helplessness propagates through an organization, negative attitudes toward the organization and jobs can develop and spread.

In a group and organizational structure, the concept of LH has attributions to organizational culture. The cumulative effect of individual LH within work groups and organizations can compound the culture of the organization and job attitudes. Individuals will import helplessness within the microcosms of an organization, such as a classroom, and then export them into the macrosphere of the organizational structure.

Moreover, in group and organizational structures, individuals rely on LH as a means to cope with situations deemed beyond their control. Adding to the complexity of individual helplessness, work groups within organizations can have their own helplessness quirks and idiosyncrasies.

The feelings of futility and insignificance first exhibited by individuals is quickly exported to others in their immediate work group as an expectation that it “comes with the job.” As the members of work groups move into other areas of the organization, their futility moves with them and proliferates into other work groups. 

Expansion

I have seen LH imported into the classroom through individuals with preconceived notions about the effectiveness and value propositions of a particular training course. If they enter the classroom with a degree of helplessness, their attitudes and behaviors in the classroom can be exported, spreading to other members of the class who may feel vulnerable or intimidated by the course. 

Suddenly the dictum of “misery loves company” spreads, and if left unchecked, can adversely alter the outcomes of the class and subsequently job attitudes.

In the broader context of a group or class, there will be one, two or more individuals who have an influence over others. As the individuals grow in numbers and become more influential, collectively, the group members may lose their sense of individuality. As a result, a process of deindividuation occurs.

Through deindividuation, individuals become less accountable for their own actions and outcomes. They are also distracted from their personal attitudes and values. Helpless attitudes are fostered by segregated individuals and become an attitude of prominence when the individual is emotionally immersed into a group, such as a class or organizational setting. 

Letting one’s guard down allows the infiltration of LH behaviors as acceptable. More adversely, prolonged exposure to an organizational culture of LH increases the risk of anxiety and depression spreading through the population of the organization. 

Not exactly a rosy outcome of how a little LH in the classroom can spread like a cancer throughout the organization, is it? So is there a way to deal with LH before it gets to this point? Absolutely, but it may be a bit dicey.

A Last Resort

First and foremost, it is important to identify who the “LHers” are and to have an action plan in place to keep the attitudes of LH from spreading. This may be as simple as segregating the LHers from the non-LHers to keep negative attitudes and preconceived notions in check.

As a last resort, it also may be necessary to cull them from the group. This may not be the most optimal solution, but thinking back to the less than rosy outcomes of a prolonged exposure to LHers increasing the risk of anxiety and depression spreading through the organization, it may come down to what’s ultimately best for the organization.

Good News

There is some good news, however. LH is not a disorder attributable to a particular form of psychosis. It is a learned trait, meaning that what is learned also can be unlearned. The key to dealing with LH, whether in a classroom or a work group, is the same as with many other human conditions: early detection and having an action plan.

If it is left to fester, LH can transcend from a classroom rapidly through the organization. The social and casual contacts there are more susceptible to outside influences, whether positive or negative.

As difficult as it may be, the bottom line is doing what’s best for the whole of the body or organization.

Paul Ulasien is president and senior partner of Business Training Consultants (www.biztrainingconsult.com). The company provides innovative and effective training strategies based on Social Learning Theory that strives to stimulate individual learning retention and then share what has been learned to individuals throughout the social fabric of the organization. Ulasien has more than 30 years of experience in training consulting and education. He serves on the Advisory Panel of Faulkner Information Services, a provider of IT and communications information services; has been an Adjunct Professor of Graduate Business Studies; and holds dual Masters Degrees in Business Administration and Industrial-Organizational Psychology.

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