How to Identify Your Employees’ Fear & Deal with it?
A work environment where employees work with fear can never flourish!
The fear in the minds of the employees will restrain their creativity, trust and willingness of try something new & innovative. It will make them self-defensive and unwilling to learn from their mistakes. Thus, it can negatively affect their performance, and so, the progress of your company.
Dealing with the issue of fear at workplace is the responsibility of the management, but doing so is not an easy task!
Leaders have to do an honest assessment of their current work environment and their own management style. You have to keep an eye on the changes in the behavior of each and every employee to determine if anyone is struggling with any kind of fear in the company.
A few things that I would love to suggest all the leaders and businessmen to recognize the fear developing in their workplace are:
- Observe how employees behave in meetings and at their desks. You might notice that some employees who use to contribute regularly in team meetings have suddenly gone silent or speak less in the meetings. This shows that the person might be fearful of something in his/her role or workplace. Have a talk with the person and find out what makes him/her afraid of. If it is due to the lack of information or some misunderstanding with the superiors, get it resolved.
- Check how employees react to a new opportunity. Though you, the leader, love changes but your employees might not respond with the same intensity. This might be due to fear of losing appraisal, getting judged, or even losing the job. In such a condition, help the person in understanding that changes are vital in life, a person must remain eager to learn something new and he/she should work with his/her full potential- a failure won’t affect his/her job as much as he/she afraid of.
- Sometimes, the employees are not happy with the policies or anything related to the management/ workplace. But, to remain in the good looks or to prevent getting fired, they do not say directly. Rather, they gossip here and there. You must remain aware of such happenings in your workplace, as such activities depicts that something is not as normal in the office as it seems. In case you find their problems genuine, do work on their concerns. Also, don’t forget to provide your employees with various employees benefits apart from the monthly income.
- As a leader, it is your responsibility not to blame anyone for a mistake until and unless you know the whole story behind. When you listen before taking a decision, you are actually building a trust in between your employees and you. And this can help you in maintaining a good workplace culture.
- Notice not just the wrong things your employees do, but also the right things they do. Always appreciate their good efforts and motivate them to grow. This will make them feel that they matters, and will surely assist you in creating a fear-ridden work environment.
- Do ask the assigned managers about the work performance of the employees. If you find sudden decline, this means the employee might not be able to give his/her 100%. Do take the help of manager, the other trustable fellows to find what’s the reason behind the person’s poor performance. If required, do have a face-to-face conversation with him/her, and assure him/her that you will help in tackling the situation in the best possible way.
I strongly recommend a two-way communication with your employees to become aware of fearful situations and create mutual trust and confidence. You should begin the conversation (apart from the work-related talks) more often to help your employees rely on you to overcome their fear and take positive action. You can also arrange some causal meetings, parties and fun activities to make them feel free to speak their heart and thereafter, work with full dedication and passion.
Do you find these points helpful? Feel free to share your views through comment section.
