Beware of Herd Mentality!
We’ve been hearing a lot in the news lately about the "great resignation" – this mass exodus of workers quitting their full-time gigs. In fact, according to a recent article in Inc. magazine, four million people quit their jobs in April alone.
People read a headline or a statistic about a new trend and take that as validation to do the same. If it is a fashion trend, no big deal. But what if it’s a really important decision–something that has long-term consequences or big risks–like quitting your job?
There is a common tendency for people (even the smartest people) to adopt a “herd mentality.” Why? Because there is safety in numbers...
Or is there?
This idea of bidding the grind adieu may seem tempting, but before you pen that resignation letter or tell your boss where to stick his weekly “team” emails, THINK this through. Maybe it's right for you to quit your job, and maybe not. This article in Forbes magazine goes as far as telling you NOT to quit and offers some reasons why. But the most interesting thing I spotted in this piece is the statistics they use:
“95% of workers are now considering changing jobs”
Herein lies part of the issue. The media loves to throw stats around. And readers read them literally.
95% of workers want to leave their jobs!
When I read this article, what I notice is:
1) This % is based on a poll by the online job search site, Monster.com.
2) The number of people polled was 646.
Translated:
1) The poll takers had a stake in the game; the audience was not random.
2) 646 people is .0003% of the adult population in the US. This statistic is not based on the law of large numbers, so it shouldn’t be assumed to represent the population at large.
In the animal kingdom, herds stay together as a survival instinct, as did tribes of humans thousands of years ago. Today, the same phenomenon happens mentally and emotionally.
When many people make the same choices based on a generally “accepted idea,” then that choice feels more right. Again, this is a sense of safety in numbers. But what kind of safety? Not physical safety, but emotional safety. If it turns out that the generally accepted idea is flat out wrong, you feel protected, because you don’t stand out as being wrong by yourself. The blame is off, or at least diluted.
Here’s why herd mentality is dangerous:
Deciding to go along with the crowd based on a headline or seeming trend instead of using your own data and your own boundaries, you lower your chances of making the best decision for your own life.
(!) When you go along with the crowd and it doesn’t work out well, you may feel that the herd lead you astray and be less likely to learn why things went wrong.
Herd mentality can prevent you from learning from mistakes and bad decisions.
(!) When you don’t think for yourself and just follow the herd, the blame or responsibility for a poor outcome gets deferred or diluted, but the consequences don’t.
You still have to deal with the results of that decision in your own life.
The Bottom Line:
Next time you read or hear about a choice that “everyone” is making:
Stop, think (not just feel), and make your own decision whether this choice is right for you–even (and sometimes especially) when it means you are going against the “wisdom” of the crowd.
“Safety” in numbers with important decisions is actually the opposite.
Stop making these mistakes.
You can always make great decisions… if you eliminate these decision killers. Grab the free report and take action today.