Culture of Fear

With all the media coverage of the "Ebola Crisis," I started think about how fear plays a part in our everyday lives. How the 24 hour news cycle has trained us to believe everything we see, read, or hear and run with it. No matter how true, absurd, or irrational the information is.

I am not saying Ebola is real or it isn't or there shouldn't be a cause for concern. Honestly, I do not know enough about it. When I want to know, I will do my own research and not rely on the media. What I do care about, however,  is the culture of fear that is perpetuated in our personal and professional lives. Simply put, fear is a tool of control to get people to think or behave a certain way.

In HR, we talk a lot about culture. We want to create a culture where people want to work. It should be positive, motivating, engaging! But what happens when it is the opposite? What happens when the culture is negative, disengaging, and based on fear. A culture where people are afraid to speak the truth because they may be scolded like a child. Where people have to pretend to be busy so they seem valuable and won't lose their jobs. Or where the executives constantly talk about not being profitable discouraging workers from asking for raises or other compensation.

Creating this culture of fear is damaging not only to the employee, but also to the employer. The employer brand, productivity and morale suffer. As HR Pros, it is our responsibility to break this culture if it exists in our organization. I understand this is a sensitive subject and must be approached with care, but it must be done. To break a culture of fear, you must promote communication and trust. Employees should be able to tell the truth without fear of retaliation and trust that there will be follow up. In addition, companies need to be transparent with their employees. It is problematic when there is one way communication about how bad the company is doing and never how well. Communication is truly the key.

We have to break the culture of fear and create a culture of honesty, integrity, and trust. And it starts with HR standing up and speaking our truth.