Overcoming Fear in the Workplace: Effective Strategies for Leaders

There could be a silent epidemic negatively affecting your employees, hurting their mental health, reducing their productivity and efficiency, and overall making your workplace a stressful and unpleasant place to work.

That epidemic isn’t a virus or an infection — it’s fear.

A LiveCareer survey found that

• 87% of surveyed adults suffer from work-related fears.
• 81% admitted that their fears affected their job in various negative ways.

Fear in the workplace hurts your employees and your organization. Even worse, it can be challenging to address because it can be even more difficult to detect. Here’s what you need to know to identify fear in the workplace, its causes and the practical strategies to create a positive and successful work environment.

The Problem with Fear in the Workplace

People may feel motivated by fear, but it is not a “good” motivator. In a state of fear, people lose their ability to think rationally and process situations. In a fight-or-flight response, an employee is more likely to become aggressive or combative with others out of self-preservation, or they could fall into conflict avoidance and try to ignore important issues altogether.

Being scared at work can cause employees to feel stressed, resentful or insecure. Fear can also cause employees to develop more serious issues like anxiety, depression, fatigue and burnout. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year globally to depression and anxiety at a cost of $1 trillion per year in lost productivity. If left unchecked, these negative feelings will cause employees to lose motivation, become disengaged or even quit.

A Statisa survey on mental health showed that, in 2022, around 40% of employees in the United States reported that their job had a somewhat negative or extremely negative impact on their mental health. With the state of worker shortages in the U.S., businesses can’t afford the conditions that can lead to increased burnout and resignations.

Tops Signs of a Fear-Based Workplace

Fear can manifest in the workplace in both subtle and overt ways, and knowing what to look for can allow supervisors and managers the opportunity to address issues before they escalate. Here are the key signs of a fear-based workplace:

• Lack of Open Communication — If leadership isn’t clearly and regularly communicating with employees, that’s going to create many of the following issues. This lack of communication will be reflected with the employees, who will be hesitant to speak up, share ideas or offer feedback, especially in meetings or direct conversations. If you’re noticing little to no engagement or active participation during discussions, there’s a clear problem.
• Avoidance of Conflict — Part of the reason why employees may not feel comfortable communicating is that they’re trying to avoid difficult conversations and do not want to raise concerns about problems in the workplace. Conflict needs to be resolved, not avoided, as the underlying issues will remain if not properly addressed. Disagreements and dissent can be constructive, so if no one is offering any alternative opinions there could be a fear-based reason.
• Lack of Initiative — Employees may be performing their job responsibilities to an acceptable level, but in fear-based workplaces, it’s clear that most aren’t taking initiative to do more. There’s no push for process improvements and many are reluctant to make decisions without seeking approval for every detail. In situations like this, it’s likely that employees are overly fearful of repercussions if they make mistakes or fall short in some way.
• Low Morale and Engagement — There are signs that employees are becoming disengaged, doing only the bare minimum, making consistent mistakes and not showing any pride in their work. There will always be shifts in morale and enthusiasm, but a consistent and constant decline is a red flag, especially among teams that previously showed high motivation.
• High Turnover Rates — If there’s a high number of employees quitting or resigning, then that’s a very clear warning sign something is wrong. Exit interviews may reveal patterns of dissatisfaction related to fear of management or job security, such as if employees are leaving due to a toxic or fear-driven work environment.
• Reluctance to Ask for Help — When employees are unwilling to ask for help or guidance, even when they’re clearly struggling or overwhelmed, it’s likely because they’re afraid they’ll be seen as weak or incompetent. A rise in errors or inefficiencies could be because employees aren’t seeking clarification on tasks.
• Decline in Team Collaboration — Fear can lead to a breakdown in teamwork, with employees isolating themselves or withholding help from colleagues out of fear of being blamed for collective failures. If teams aren’t working together, that’s a sign of a larger problem.
• High Levels of Stress and Anxiety — Employees either appear to be or are consistently talking about feeling tense, anxious or stressed. High levels of absenteeism and frequent sick days may be signs of poor mental health in the workplace, which is likely caused by anxiety, stress and fear

Common Causes of Workplace Fear

There are many causes of fear in the workplace, some of which you can’t control, such as a sudden economic downturn. Putting aside aside these outside factors and one-off or unexpected incidents such as accidents, there are several causes of fear you should be aware of — as they’re common within toxic and harmful workplaces

• Poor Leadership — Feelings of fear in the workplace often start at the top. Leaders who are authoritarian, overly critical or inconsistent in their expectations create a culture of control, intimidation, blame and uncertainty. A lack of clear communication, support and fairness can leave employees feeling undervalued and afraid to make mistakes, speak up or take initiative. This erodes trust and creates a toxic work environment where fear dominates over collaboration and innovation.
• Fear of Termination — For many employees, at-will employment means that they can be terminated at any time for any lawful reason with or without cause. During challenging times, employees that are not under contract of employment or are not members of a labor union may feel that any mistake or sign of underperformance will result in their termination.
• Uncertainty — When employees do not know what’s happening within a business, they may assume the worst. When they lack insight into company operations or the decisions made by leadership, they’ll start to lose trust. Without clear and open communication, rumors and assumptions will fill the void, which will only increase the sense of uncertainty and feelings of fear.
• Retaliation — Leaders are expected to support and assist their teams, but there are bad actors who abuse their positions of authority. In these situations, employees can feel helpless due to fear of retaliation. Because retaliation is likely to happen behind the scenes and be hard to prove, employees will underreport incidents of sexual harassment, illegal discrimination, safety violations and other harmful practices — all of which will further hurt morale.
• Discrimination and Bullying — Workplace bullying is any workplace behavior by one or more employees that involves repeatedly and deliberately mistreating another employee. This can include abusive conduct that is meant to threaten, humiliate, intimidate or sabotage. Discrimination is unfair treatment of employees based on characteristics like race, gender, age, religion, disability or sexual orientation. If these incidents aren’t addressed by leadership, then they’re likely to fester and poison your entire workplace culture.

Techniques for Overcoming Fear in the Workplace

Overcoming fear is vital to the health and success of your business. Fear creates a bias in the way we interpret information, leading us to focus too heavily on the risks, rather than being able to make an objective analysis on how things can improve. However, when employees feel safe and supported, they’re more likely to take risks, to speak up and to talk about their concerns without fear of negative repercussions.

According to a McKinsey survey, 89% of employee respondents said they believe that psychological safety — or the absence of fear, doubt and anxiety — in the workplace is essential. Psychological safety in the workplace promotes more team collaboration, encourages process improvement and learning, improves employee retention and results in increased performance.

A Glassdoor survey on employee motivation found that, while only 37% of respondents will work harder because they fear losing their job, 81% will work harder when their boss shows appreciation.

When asked what will make them work harder…

To address fear in the workplace, consider the following strategies.

1. Start with fostering a supportive environment. You’ll need to understand how to demonstrate empathy to understand what your team is feeling. Managers and supervisors need to display positive interpersonal behaviors such as compassion, openness and awareness. Make it clear that your culture encourages independent thinking and allows employees to engage in healthy dissent. Your team needs to know it can embrace the challenge of trial and error without fear of repercussions.
2. It’s also important that you know the steps to take in crisis situations. You can’t plan for everything, but you can train the leadership team how to react during a crisis. Ensure that your leaders are able to reimagine a post-crisis future and are clearly communicating that vision to your team, while also providing space for employees to share their fears and anxieties. This builds stronger relationships and prepares the organization to emerge stronger.
3. You’ll also want to promote positive behaviors though a scalable leadership development system. Remember, change doesn’t happen through a single training session. Set clear goals for behavior change and develop a comprehensive, ongoing strategy. Your leaders should understand that training isn’t just about engaging with the content, but being open to personal introspection and vulnerability essential to their personal and professional development as well. Encourage your leaders to regularly practice and model their new skills publicly to set an example for other employees.
4. When developing training programs for leaders, managers or front line workers, always couple new knowledge with plenty of role-play practice opportunities in a safe training environment and with a requirement to try the new behaviors immediately on the job with their everyday colleagues and customers. Since building new behaviors often requires stepping outside an emotional comfort zone, supplement employee training with modules that raise self-awareness and enhance trainees’ ability to confront their fears, overcome old habits and establish better ones.
5. Lastly, don’t overlook the importance of offering mental health support. A 2023 Statista report showed that at least half of employees in the U.S. indicated that insurance coverage for mental health services is the most important mental health benefit they want their workplace to provide. Your business must provide systems of support, such as mental health services, to ensure that your employees feel secure and cared for, reducing fear and stress in the workplace.

FAQs

What causes employee fear in the workplace?

Employee fear can stem from several causes, including poor or overly strict leadership, unclear expectations, job insecurity, a lack of clear communication and incidents of discrimination or bullying. Additionally, employees may fear retaliation for speaking up or offering feedback, creating an environment where they feel powerless or undervalued.

What are the consequences of fear in the workplace?

Fear in the workplace leads to reduced productivity, low morale, and high turnover. Employees may avoid taking initiative and resist collaboration, which can hinder innovation and problem-solving. Fearful employees are likely to experience higher levels of stress, anxiety and burnout, affecting their well-being and performance. All together, this can create a toxic culture that damages an organization’s long-term success and results in a higher turnover rate.

How can my organization reduce fear within the workplace?

Organizations should foster open communication and welcome feedback to gauge how the workforce is feeling. Leaders should adopt a supportive and empathetic approach, promote trust through transparency and establish a positive, inclusive culture where employees feel safe to express concerns or make mistakes. Recognizing employee efforts, offering constructive feedback instead of punishment, and providing opportunities for growth can also help minimize fear. The U.S. Department of Labor has a list of resources for workers and employers who want to learn how to support good mental health in the workplace.

Work can — and should — promote good mental health for all employees by providing a livelihood, a sense of confidence, purpose and achievement. It also offers the opportunity for employees to build positive relationships and inclusion within a community that can enrich their lives in and out of the workplace.

If you’re looking for further insights to overcome fear and foster collaboration in your workplace, download our free eBook, “Transforming Negative Workplace Behaviors: 5 Effective Strategies for Leaders.”