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The Behavioural Science Edge: How Nudging Can Unlock Performance in the Resources Sector

For C-suite leaders in mining, oil & gas, and energy, the challenge is increasingly evident. Workers may not operate strictly within policy manuals and may respond more readily to cognitive load, risk perception, and social reinforcement.

If a decision is complex, exhausting, or inconsistent with what their peers are doing, it is likely to be deprioritised or overlooked, even in the presence of training or incentives. The assumption that rules and oversight shape behaviour has been challenged by consistent patterns observed in high-reliability industries. Instead, how choices are structured within a decision environment may determine compliance.

Why Traditional Compliance Models Fall Short

Industrial safety studies have long shown that rules alone do not prevent mistakes. In aviation, nuclear energy, and healthcare, even highly trained professionals deviate from protocols under stress. (Reason, J., 1997) 1, (Dekker, S., 2011) 2 

The conclusion is frequently observed: human error may not stem from a lack of discipline but from environments that overload cognitive capacity.

This plays out across resource operations in predictable ways. A mine or offshore platform that has operated incident-free for months sees a gradual decline in risk perception. Workers may take minor procedural shortcuts, believing danger is low. Over time, these shortcuts can become standard practice until an accident occurs. 

The same principle applies to productivity. Decision fatigue may accumulate as shifts progress, leading to slower execution and increased error rates, not because workers lack skill, but because their ability to process complex decisions declines under pressure. (Kahneman, D.,2011) 3

Policies may be well-documented at the corporate level, but unless structural nudges reinforce frontline adoption, real impact is limited. For instance, if an energy efficiency measure requires an extra step, an opt-in process, or additional effort, participation can drop, even when the long-term benefit is clear.

What Nudging Looks Like in Practice

Behavioural nudging is not persuasion or training. It is the strategic design of choices to encourage the desired action by default. (Thaler, R., & Sunstein, C., 2008) 4 Instead of mandating compliance through oversight, nudging can make safety, efficiency, and safety behaviours effortless and intuitive.

There is growing evidence that even subtle interventions can drive measurable results. Studies across high-reliability industries, including aviation, healthcare, and industrial operations, have shown that small behavioural shifts, such as pre-task verbal commitments, real-time feedback loops, and default sustainability settings, can improve compliance and execution.

For example, research has found that workers who articulate their safety actions before starting a task are more likely to follow through with precautions, reinforcing personal accountability.

Visual cues including safety rules on wrist bands, slogans on water bottles and emotive stickers have all been linked to improved safety outcomes. Salient, visual reminders that make it easy to remember a course of action or that prompt individuals to call out unsafe behaviours provide simple and impactful interventions.5, 6

Other studies indicate that real-time feedback on performance can enhance adherence to operational protocols, helping workers adjust their behaviour immediately rather than after-the-fact corrections. (Carayon, P., 2006) 7

In sustainability, organisations that set default options for energy efficiency or waste reduction, rather than requiring opt-ins, is likely to consistently see higher participation rates, as these behaviours become the path of least resistance. (Johnson, E. J., & Goldstein, D., 2003) 8

While the specific impact of these interventions varies by context, the pattern is clear: when organisations reduce the friction for desired behaviours, compliance may improve without the need for increased oversight. 

A New Leadership Approach to Risk and Performance

There are potential commercial benefits when environments are designed to make the right choices automatic. By embedding behavioural nudging at scale, companies may be better positioned to lead the industry in risk management, operational efficiency, and sustainability execution.

Metisphere offers bespoke strategic advisory services designed to facilitate sustainable and positive behavioural change; ensuring that individuals, teams, executive groups and organisations are productive and engaged. Get in touch at https://metisphere.co/contact/.

References:

  • 1 Reason, J. (1997). “Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents.”,
  • 2 Dekker, S. (2011). “Drift into Failure: From Hunting Broken Components to Understanding Complex Systems.”,
  • 3 Kahneman, D. (2011). “Thinking, Fast and Slow.”, Baumeister, R. F., & Tierney, J. (2011). “Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength.”
  • 4 Thaler, R., & Sunstein, C. (2008). “Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness.”, Gawande, A. (2010). “The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right.”,
  • 5 BHP. (2019). “Poitrel Mine Nudge Program Success.
  • 6 Habyarimana, J., & Jack, W. (2015). “Results of a Large-Scale Randomized Behavior Change Intervention on Road Safety in Kenya.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(34), E4661-E4670.
  • 7 Carayon, P. (2006). “Human Factors of Complex Systems.” Applied Ergonomics, 37(4), 525-535.
  • 8 Johnson, E. J., & Goldstein, D. (2003). “Do Defaults Save Lives?” Science, 302(5649), 1338-1339, Sunstein, C. R., & Reisch, L. A. (2014). “Automatically Green: Behavioral Economics and Environmental Protection.”

© 2025 Metisphere. All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form without prior written permission from Metisphere. Brief excerpts or references may be cited with appropriate attribution. All third-party research referenced herein is properly credited. This document synthesises publicly available insights under fair use for the purposes of commentary, analysis, and industry education. For permissions or inquiries, please contact: [email protected].