Creating Behavioral Change That’s “Too Tiny to Fail”
Creating Behavioral Change That’s “Too Tiny to Fail”
by James Porter
Employees don’t struggle because they lack information. They struggle because change feels overwhelming.
Behavioral scientist BJ Fogg offers a simple but powerful alternative to traditional change models. Instead of relying on motivation — which fluctuates throughout the day — he encourages us to design behaviors that are “too tiny to fail.”
Rather than setting broad goals like eat healthier, reduce stress, or lose weight, Fogg emphasizes starting with small, specific behaviors that are almost impossibly easy:
- Floss one tooth
- Meditate for one minute
- Eat one salad per week
- Drink water instead of soda once per day
The focus is not on the outcome.
The focus is on the behavior.
Why This Matters for Workplace Well-Being
Many wellness initiatives attempt to drive change by increasing motivation — through incentives, education, or awareness campaigns. But motivation is unreliable. It rises and falls depending on stress, workload, time of day, and personal circumstances.
Fogg’s research shows that behavior happens when motivation + ability + a trigger come together. If the behavior is too difficult, even strong motivation won’t sustain it.
Instead of pushing people upward with more motivation, Fogg suggests moving behaviors horizontally — by making them easier.
For example:
- Having pre-made salads in the refrigerator makes healthy eating easier.
- Going for a short walk after lunch replaces a smoke break.
- Keeping a water bottle at your desk increases hydration.
- Scheduling a 60-second breathing pause after opening your laptop builds a stress-reduction habit.
When behaviors are simple and achievable, employees experience small wins. Those small wins build self-efficacy — and self-efficacy is the true driver of sustainable change.
Add Instead of Subtract
One of Fogg’s most important insights:
It’s easier to add a new behavior than to stop an old one.
Telling someone to quit smoking, stop drinking soda, or eliminate stress creates resistance and often failure. Replacing a behavior — gum instead of a cigarette, water instead of soda, a short walk instead of scrolling — is far more sustainable.
For organizations, this means wellness programming should focus less on restriction and more on substitution and simplicity.
The “Magic Wand Behavior”
Fogg encourages identifying a specific, meaningful behavior that:
- Is personally meaningful
- Is specific and measurable
- Is not vague (you know exactly when it’s done)
- Starts small
For example:
Instead of “eat healthier,” choose “eat three salads per week.”
Then make it easy — buy them in advance or prepare them ahead of time.
When the desired behavior becomes the easy choice, success becomes repeatable.
Implications for EAP, HR, and Training Programs
- Design initiatives around small, repeatable behaviors.
- Build systems that make healthy choices easier than unhealthy ones.
- Encourage habit formation before scaling intensity.
- Reinforce small wins to build confidence and momentum.
Sustainable change doesn’t come from dramatic overhauls. It comes from behaviors so small they feel almost insignificant — until they compound.
The question isn’t, “How do we motivate employees more?”
The better question is, “How do we make healthy behaviors easier to do?”
That’s how change becomes not just possible — but sustainable.
Erica Tuminski
Author