Employees are scared. They’re afraid of losing their jobs, they’re afraid of their managers, in today’s culture of fear they might even be afraid of their colleagues.
In such an uncertain work environment, with no real statistics around just how bad the unemployment crisis is — since the statistics only track people receiving unemployment benefits, not those who don’t qualify, or work part-time or freelance — it’s an unnerving time out there.
Companies need to realize the huge impact this culture of fear has on their employees. It will not just impact productivity, but also employee mental and physical health for the rest of their lives.
The longer we live in a state of fear, the more damage it does to our minds and bodies, risking developing health conditions such as CPTSD (chronic post-traumatic stress disorder), and even increasing the risk of a heart attack.
What does a culture of fear look like?
Inaccessible senior leaders
Your senior leaders set the tone for your organization. If they come across as aloof, defensive, or like they don’t care about people below a certain pay grade, the rest of your employees will subconsciously follow suit.
Likewise, if they take forever to reply to employees, employees will worry they’ve done something wrong and question if their job is at risk. Especially if said senior leader needs to sign something off before the employee can finish what they were doing.
This is particularly common in marketing teams. An employee creates the content, the manager signs it off. But then the manager doesn’t sign it off, and complains when a social media post hasn’t gone out. It’s unfair to expect employees to adhere to a schedule if their manager doesn’t.
Simple things, like out of office emails, show employees if they should expect longer response times. So then they don’t blame themselves and feed into the culture of fear if they don’t get a reply right away.
Employees warning new hires about certain colleagues
If someone tells a new hire to be afraid, or wary, of a particular staff member, that immediately puts that new person on edge. Especially if it’s a vague warning, rather than stating what that person has specifically done.
Of course, the actual solution here is to investigate — and if required, discipline — people employees are afraid of.
They shouldn’t be in a role just because they can make the balance sheet look good, especially if they’re a manager. They still need people skills to avoid contributing to a culture of fear.
Lack of psychological safety
Just because something has always been done the same way, that doesn’t mean it’s the best way to do something. Employees should feel able to challenge the status quo or speak up when something is wrong.
Over time, a culture of fear will mean that employees do what you tell them to and nothing more. They might job hug or quiet quit, but you won’t get the best from them.
No one can perform at their best when they’re afraid, and they especially can’t if managers or colleagues criticize them for speaking up.
Managers who say one thing but do another
We’ve all met someone who says one thing then does another. There are lots of reasons people can do this, but the reasons in the workplace don’t really matter. What matters is how frustrating this is for employees.
The example that always sticks with me — because I’ve witnessed it at multiple companies — is when senior leaders ask everyone to read Radical Candor. We then discuss the book and how it applies to the business.
Two weeks later, when someone speaks up about something or criticizes a senior leader, they’re shut down.
Once or twice, I’ve then seen that person who was shut down quietly leave a few weeks after that incident. Was it because they were unhappy about the contradiction, or was it because the senior leader in question disliked that person challenging authority? It’s impossible to know.
But employees can, and will, connect the dots.
And they won’t speak up going forward, which means your business will suffer due to this culture of fear.
Endless rounds of layoffs
This is becoming a trend. Companies announce layoffs, then do some more later in the year. Then more the next year.
AI is usually the excuse, but it isn’t always the reason. It could be over-hiring during Covid, mismanagement, justifying senior leaders’ pay, or something else.
Regardless, it’s terrifying for employees to witness their colleagues being let go. It creates a culture of fear as they wonder if they’re next on the list.
So then they either work themselves to the point of burnout, or they switch off and don’t bother, because what’s the point if they’re next on the layoff list?
What are the consequences of a culture of fear?
A culture of fear impacts every aspect of an employee’s life, as well as your business.
Rachel Goor, CEO of Workrowd, explains:
“Fear eats up a lot of brain space. Ensuring your employees feel safe and valued means they can put that energy toward their jobs rather than worrying. Simple things like clear communication, supportive feedback, and genuine listening go a long way.”
The brain space that fear eats up shouldn’t be underestimated. It won’t just be the fear of losing their job, but also their mortgage, quality of life, even their relationship. Even if someone doesn’t articulate those fears, they can rest in the back of their mind, eating away at their energy until they spend all their spare time sleeping, wondering what’s wrong.
Naturally, this increases burnout rates. Especially if employees are so afraid of losing their jobs they overwork to try to stay.
It doesn’t have to be this way
We live in an unpredictable world, and there’s not much most of us can do about it. But employers can do things to make their employees feel safe and secure in their jobs.
In the next post in this series, we’ll look at specific employee actions that show a culture of fear in the workplace, and what to do if you identify one in yours.
