Cognitive resonance refers to events involving conflicts in attitudes, believes, or conducts ( Festinger, 1957 ). It generates a sense of psychological discomfort, causing changes in an individual’s attitudes, behaviors, or beliefs to minimize the discomfort experienced and restore balance. Leon Festinger was the first person to examine cognitive dissonance. This was after making observations about embers of a cult who believed that the entire world would be eliminated by a flood and the impact of these beliefs on members, especially those who were committed when the flood did not occur. Most of the committed followers had resigned from work and left their homes and families to work for the cult. Although the fringe individuals belonging to the cult acknowledged that they individually made fools out of themselves, the most committed ones tended to re-interpret the situation and argued that the world was not destroyed through floods because they were faithful.
According to Festinger, the theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that individuals have an inner force to ensure that their attitudes and behaviors operate in harmony and prevent disharmony/dissonance ( Festinger, 1957 ). The situation is referred to as cognitive consistency. Every time lack of consistency occurs between behavior and attitudes. A change occurs to alleviate the dissonance. Although the theory does not indicate that strategies to reduce dissonance will always work, it suggests that people experiencing dissonance always make an effort to reduce the magnitude of the dissonance experienced.
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Individuals experience cognitive dissonance in the workplace. For example, the workplace policies in a company require employees to have a tea break for 30 minutes. However, the employee tends to take up to one hour, and the management seems not to care about the behavior. A new employee might experience internal conflict on what he/she should do. This situation is a cognitive dissonance arising from having two conflicting thoughts simultaneously. The new employee believes that the tea break should take thirty minutes, but it seems the organization is okay with having an hour. When individuals experience dissonance in the workplace, some decide to change their behavior to eradicate one of the conflicts, justify their conduct by altering the conflicting cognition, or justify their behaviors by introducing new cognitions.
Cognitive dissonance can have a beneficial or detrimental impact on an employee. It is one of the most common causes of stress in the workplace. Employees frequently experience stress when facing conflicting viewpoints. Professionals in roles such as risk management or human resource are the most affected by cognitive dissonance. On the positive side, cognitive dissonance can help employees change their negative or harmful behaviors and develop positively. By being aware of conflicting beliefs or behaviors, an individual can address them and develop behaviors that align with their values. An intern or unpaid individual might justify their actions or behaviors by considering that there are not receiving any financial benefits or they are not part of the organization.
According to behavioral economics, human beings are not rational hence unable to make good decisions. However, when presented with their wishes and constraints, they can make rational decisions ( Camerer & Rabin, 2011) . As an employee, the rational course of action to take is to weigh the costs and benefits of each possible option effectively. It is vital to avoid being driven or influenced by emotions when deciding on the best course of action to take because the outcomes might be detrimental. Making a rational decision would require exercising self-control and avoiding being influenced by emotions/feelings and different external factors. A rational individuals can identify what is best for themselves. By exercising self-control, an employee can balance actions that are beneficial to an individual and the organization.
References
Camerer, C. F., Loewenstein, G., & Rabin, M. (2011). Advances in behavioral economics . Princeton University Press.
Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance . Stanford University Press.
