55 ways to ease stress (or not): Reflections from a behavioural science webinar for UN leaders

Think of the nutrition label on the back of a packet of chips, or the terms and conditions of new platforms to read before clicking "agree." Somewhere along the way, we assumed that if information exists, people will use and follow it - and if they don't change their behaviour, it's because they weren't told clearly enough. So the label gets longer. The font gets smaller. The list grows. 

A similar logic shaped the poster below - Look at it for a second: How does it make you feel? Would reading it change what you will do the next time you're stressed? 

A poster like this was created as a solution to address mental health challenges and shared by Dr. Umar Taj during a UNSSC free webinar series this spring. Watch the video below to hear more on standard approaches to complex behavioural problems: 

As highlighted in the video, the starting point is: in most instances, information alone doesn't change behaviour. We need to think behaviourally. 

Traditional approaches to problem solving often assume that if people just knew more, they'd act differently. “Tell them the risk, show them the warning sign, explain the consequences ...” - and behaviour will follow.  

Behavioural science tells us this isn't necessarily true. People are not blank slates waiting for facts. They live inside contexts, economic pressure, social expectation, and the physical layout of their daily commute. Those contexts shape what they do far more than information does. 

So here's the other side of that same lesson: if you see someone behaving in a way you don't want them to, resist the urge to assume they intended to.  

Behaviour is rarely a window into someone's character. It's far more often a window into their circumstances. 

So, what is behavioural science? And why does it matter? 

According to the UN Practitioner’s Guide to Getting Started with Behavioural Science, behavioural science is defined as the evidence-based study of how people behave, make decisions and respond to context, which could include programmes, policies, administrative processes and incentives.  

What does this mean? 

What does behavioural science look like in practice? 

Let’s consider a real-life case by behavioral science firm FinalMile Consulting (A Fractal Company): In Mumbai, an average of 10 people die every day crossing railway tracks. That's over 3,500 people a year, in one city alone. Across India, the toll climbs to roughly 15,000 lives lost annually on rail tracks. 

The easy explanation is carelessness. However, the harder, truer question is: why are thousands of people, every year, making a choice that seems irrational from the outside? 

This is the shift behavioural science asks of us: not faster messaging or louder warnings, but using methods to genuinely understand how people act and react, before designing for them. 

Should this approach resonate with you and the challenges you might be experiencing at work, you can explore how behavioural science together with the other Skills of the Quintet of Change are shaping UN work during the UN 2.0 bootcamp – Learn more here

To learn how you as UN personnel can get started with applying behavioural science to your work, join us and register for the UN 2.0 Bootcamp.