Workplace Atmos-Fear
Charles Davis, CDMKTG
Brand Copywriter/Content Strategist - Road-Tested for YES!
“Uh-oh!”
A common workplace refrain, often said in cubicle silence or inside one’s head.
Usually followed by thoughts such as:
“My boss — he/she is going to hit the roof.”
“I could lose my job over this.”
And hope against hope — “Maybe they won’t find out.”
We’re not talking about high crimes and misdemeanors here like company embezzlement or sexual harassment. We’re talking about simple, ordinary, garden-variety mistakes that happen day in and day out in the corporate world.
Although we’re in the 21st century and the impression is that company environments have evolved to be more empathetic, constructive, and compassionate about such human errors, fear and anxiety persist.
For this article, I did a lot of deep dives into the subject. Some I will be quoting here and there as ideas that can help make the company atmosphere more relatable and understanding. But the fact remains, as long as human beings dominate these environments, their psychological makeup, idiosyncratic behaviors, anxieties, and phobias will still intersect with daily operations.
And let’s not go down the rabbit hole about how machines will eliminate some of this human error (as well as many job roles). Technology is created by humans. Humans invest many of their own perspectives into the process. So, don’t think machines that learn are infallible when it comes to workplace errors.
Moving on.
Darcy Gruttadaro, an esteemed voice in organizational development, states: “For some people, extra-long work hours, high stress, a lack of support from managers and co-workers, and related factors can lead to someone developing anxiety at work.”
On the face of it, that seems right. What we should add to that reasoning is the psychology of those managers and co-workers projected upon others that can also impinge on the levels of anxiety in the workplace.
What does one do with a slightly off-kilter micro-manager who is breathing down your neck at every turn? Or a nosy-know-it-all co-worker who derives a certain amount of schadenfreude (one who derives pleasure from the misfortunes of others) from pointing out when you’ve screwed up on any level?
According to an emotional wellness coach, the 3 biggest fears that hold people back in life are:
Let’s just say that from the get-go as human beings, while we look forward to new adventures in our careers, starting a new job carries forward the fear yokes around our emotional necks.
Writing on the subject of handling fear in the workplace, Forbes’ Marion Collard makes a succinct observation: “Fear is like fire — once it is allowed to ignite in the workplace, it could burn through every corner of the office, taking our big ideas, creative thinking and innovative spirit with it. We wouldn’t live in a home without a smoke detector, and in the same way, we shouldn’t work in an atmosphere that doesn’t recognize fear as a part of life and actively works to combat it.”
Furthermore, according to Ms. Collard, “We must recognize that everyone we work with has their own set of fears they navigate when they show up to work each day. As leaders, it’s on us to acknowledge these fears and establish a workplace where employees feel empowered, safe, and supported.”
These kinds of ideas about improving workplace behavior have fostered a new term “feed-forward.” As a replacement for the good-old “feedback,” feed-forward focuses less on “past actions” and more on what an employee can do “in the future.” Sounds rather adult, doesn't it?
The more modern notion is to liberate the sense of fear and encourage more comfort in “taking risks” with the plan to “fail fast, adapt and overcome.”
Pulse, a company representing a team of Organizational Psychologists, has isolated some of the key identifiers of a “fear workplace”:
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1. “In a fear-based workplace, everyone is focused on their daily goals. They have to be because if they miss a goal, they could lose their job. You won’t get collaboration or innovation out of people who are scared to death!”
2. “In a fear-based culture, managers and HR people specialize in assigning work, measuring results, punishing infractions, and maintaining order. In a healthy culture, managers and HR people specialize in listening to employees, problem-solving with them, celebrating successes, and envisioning even greater successes!”
3. “In a fear-based environment, people are afraid to tell the truth because they already know no one wants to hear it. How do they know this? It’s obvious because the biggest truth of all — namely, “Our culture is horrible, but bad things happen to people who say so” is never acknowledged. It is the elephant in the room.”
4. “In a fear-based company, people talk incessantly about who’s up and who’s down in the company stock index. The rumor mill is more credible than official communication. In a healthy company, managers and employees talk about sticky topics. They don’t avoid them just because they are awkward to address.”
5. “In a fear-based company, employees wonder whether they’ll still have a job next week. A great performance review or an on-the-job triumph does not guarantee anyone another week of employment. People work under a cloud of fear and suspicion. Managers are afraid to recognize and reinforce their teams because they might get in trouble for doing so.”
If any of these correlate to your present work environment, either run fast the other way or do your best to introduce ideas that may affect positive change for your colleagues and yourself in terms of productivity, fulfillment, and success.
Writing for the online publication, CIO (Chief Information Officers), Sarah K White cites several knowledgeable sources in the field in “How to Manage the 7 Biggest Workplace Fears”:
1. Fear of Failure: Elaine Varelas, a managing partner at Keystone Partners, a company focused on career management support and talent management, urges: “Managers need to ensure employees always feel they have an open line of communication to ask for help or guidance and make sure failure is seen as a learning experience and an opportunity to grow.”
2. Embarrassment: “One study from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that embarrassment helped strengthen trust in relationships. Subjects showed greater feelings of trust for those who expressed embarrassment and were even more likely to want to get to know that person and associate with them. Embrace those embarrassing moments, laugh about them with friends and colleagues, learn from your mistake, and maybe even get a little closer in the process.”
3. Underperformance: “Managers should give consistent and reliable feedback to employees, so they always know where they stand. Even if they’re overperforming, you want to make sure you avoid potential burnout scenarios with your employees as well. Varelas says employees should feel comfortable and confident at work, so when a new project pops up, they won’t hesitate to take it on.”
4. Rejection: “Varelas says that this attitude often stems from feeling undervalued at work, or not knowing exactly where you stand. Foster collaborative cultures that help support new ideas and opinions from even the most entry-level person in your department. And avoid only creating opportunities for your favorite employees. “
5. Change and Uncertainty: “The only solution, says Varelas, is to over-communicate and be completely transparent with your employees whenever you can.”
6. Confrontation: “A fear of confrontation also circles back to the idea that employees want to avoid any negative emotions at work. Managers need to be sure that they keep every confrontation private, says Varelas. Never call out an employee in front of their peers or in an open-space environment, or you’ll likely only make the situation worse.”
7. Isolation: “Every employee is different, the level at which they engage at work or with their peers will be different, too. Some will come in the door and easily blend into the company culture, while others might seem standoffish. Avoiding those who are challenging is not the sign of a strong manager or healthy organization.”
Perhaps the best sum-up I came across was from Thomas Crane, president of Crane Consultants.
As the author of “The Heart of Coaching,” Crane’s central philosophy for encouraging high performance in organizations is “changing a leader’s mindset from “the boss of people” to the mindset of “the coach for people.”
Furthermore, Crane boiled down his commandments for best practices to The 7 C’s of High-Performing Teams:
There’s no single silver bullet curative to “workplace atmos-fear.” However, there are real strategies and practices to implement that can improve the overall tenor of these high-wire environments.
Practices that provide more promise to engendering more satisfying experiences in the workplace and, ultimately, more success for both employee and organization.
Ellie Chio, a Senior Engineering Manager at the data-science group, Turing, might have best articulated how to nurture the mindset and create a more high-performance team in your workplace:
“Remember, building a high-performing team is like running a marathon, not a sprint. Think of it as a continuous, iterative process rather than a one-off task.”