Another former VW executive said: “There was always a distance, a fear and a respect… If he would come and visit or you to go to him, your pulse would go up. If you presented bad news, those were the moments that it could become quite unpleasant and loud and quite demeaning,” – although the executive didn’t provide specific examples.
Fear in the workplace
Unfortunately, this isn’t a rare occurrence; so many CEOs run their businesses on fear, unwittingly damaging their companies from within, and running the risk of having a major incident like that experienced by Volkswagen. The fact is, people want to feel excited about the day ahead, motivated and challenged by their work and good about the relationships that are developing. But the professional world is far too regularly tainted with anxiety from workers experiencing the fear of losing their jobs, being criticised, rejected, excluded and left behind. Fear is one of the most powerful emotions in our working culture today. It outshines love and joy with ease – the emotions that make us feel life is worth-while. Organisations that rely on fear in the mistaken belief that it motivates are surprisingly regular, but these methods are simply counterproductive. They weaken workers and the structure of companies; they leave people feeling threatened and vulnerable. Fear does not motivate – it paralyses, leaving workers distracted by forever watching their backs or looking for ways to please the boss, and potentially suffering from stress-related psychological and physical problems. Simply put, scared people don’t produce good work and this has the potential to cost organisations, like Volkswagen, a lot of time and money.
The antidote to fear = trust
The other end of the scale holds the solution to these issues. The antidote to fear is trust. To create trust within a company, good relationships have to be built and maintained. Quite often, organisations focus copious amounts of energy and resources on building external relationships with customers but seemingly decline to do the same within their own employees. Without good, healthy relationships, trust breaks down and the culture becomes a breeding ground for fear. In an ideal world, all HR systems should be designed with the aim of producing trust. This means, organisationally, that individuals know they are valued and respected as individuals, are permitted to make mistakes if they are honest and can see their work as part of their own life’s journey. This will allow them to continuously offer to the organisation the very best of themselves. Thee negative press around Winterkorn could be based on hearsay and he is an unfortunate victim in all of this. However, it has given us the opportunity to speak out; to say that fearful environments just don’t work. They are completely unhealthy, invariably destructive and result in a lack of efficiency, competitive and invention. They may survive, but will not thrive. Joan Kingsley is an organisational psychotherapist and together with Dr Paul Brown and Dr Sue Paterson, wrote “The Fear-Free Organization: Vital Insights from Neuroscience to Transform your Business Culture”.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.