Nearly two-thirds of employees say breaking an old work habit is harder than learning a new one, according to new research from TalentLMS.
The survey of 1,500 US employees examines what the learning platform calls “habit hugging”: the tendency to hold on to familiar tools and processes even as roles, technology and expectations change.
Training does not always translate into adoption
TalentLMS found that only 41% of employees consistently use a new way of working after training. A further 52% say they follow the new approach but sometimes fall back on old habits, while 8% continue working as before.
The findings suggest that adoption is rarely a clean shift. Almost three-quarters of respondents (73%) said they mix old and new ways of working to get the job done, while 42% still use tools or processes their manager believes have been replaced.
“AI training alone isn’t enough to make new ways of working stick.”
Dimitris Tsingos, CEO of Epignosis, parent company of TalentLMS
Managers can make the difference
The research points to managers as an important part of sustaining change. Where managers modelled the new ways of working they expected their teams to follow, 49% of employees said they consistently adopted them. That fell to 22% when managers did not lead by example.
Employees also described a tension between changing how work is done and maintaining day-to-day output. Nearly half (48%) felt rushed to adopt new ways of working, while 60% said that getting results mattered more in their organisation than using the new process.
From completion to everyday practice
TalentLMS argues that employers need to look beyond course completion and create the conditions for practice and reinforcement. Half of employees said making a new way of working part of their everyday workflow would help it stick, while 49% wanted more chances to practise.
The report also highlights the challenge around AI adoption. Among employees trained to use AI for work tasks, 36% said they sometimes reverted to old ways of working and 12% continued without AI.
Read the full Habit Hugging report.
