Fear was once used to motivate workers working on the assembly line in a factory or farm workers in the field – in jobs where fast pace and accuracy in performing repetitive tasks are important. Most of us have had contact with or internalized the figure of a wicked boss who manages through fear. In popular culture, this stereotype has been exaggerated to the point of absurdity, as in the Pixar animated film Ratatouille, where the rat Remy, the main character of this fairy tale, must first defeat the despotic restaurant chef if he is to fulfill his dream of becoming a chef himself.

To make matters worse, many managers —both consciously and not—still believe in the power of fear as a motivator. They assume that people who are afraid (of superiors or the effects of low efficiency) will work harder to avoid unpleasant consequences, and everything will go well. This approach may make sense if the work is simple and the employee is unlikely to encounter any problems or ideas for improvement. However, in the case of work where it is necessary to draw conclusions or cooperate to achieve success, fear is not an effective motivator.

Research in the field of neuroscience has often proven that fear hinders learning and cooperation. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the neurophysiologist Ivan Pavlov, who kept several dozen dogs in his laboratory, proved that their ability to learn new tricks decreased after they were frightened by the flood that hit Leningrad in 1924. Laboratory workers who came to the aid of the animals said that the water filled the cage to such a high level that only dog noses protruded from it. Since then, neuroscientists have discovered that fear stimulates the amygdala, the area of the brain responsible for detecting threats. If you’ve ever had a heart pounding or sweating before an important speech, your hands were caused by the automatic reactions of your amygdala.

Fear makes learning difficult. Neurobiological studies show that fear consumes the body’s resources, directing them from the areas of the brain responsible for working memory and processing new information. This impairs the ability to think analytically, creatively infer and solve problems. This is why it is difficult for people to achieve the best results when they feel fear. As a consequence, the degree of psychological security strongly shapes the ability to engage in learning behaviors, such as exchanging information, asking for help or experimenting. It also affects employee satisfaction.

Hierarchy (and more specifically the fear it brings with it in the absence of proper conduct) reduces the level of psychological security. Studies indicate that people with a lower status in the hierarchy tend to feel less secure than those with a high status. Research also shows that we constantly assess our status by monitoring our position in relation to others, and this also takes place mainly on the subconscious level. What’s more, people with a lower status in the hierarchy feel stress in the presence of higher-ranking people.

Psychological security is the belief that neither the formal nor informal consequences of taking interpersonal risks, such as asking for help or admitting a mistake, will be punishable. In environments where there is psychological security, people can be sure that if they make a mistake or ask for help, others will not react badly. Sincerity is both permissible and desirable. Psychological security exists when people feel that their workplace is an environment where they can speak, propose something, or ask questions without fear of being punished or humiliated.

This article is an excerpt from Amy C. Edmondson’s book „A Company Without Fear” about psychological safety affecting team effectiveness.

Source: https://kadry.infor.pl/kadry/hrm/motywowanie/5398491,Czy-strach-jest-skutecznym-motywatorem.html

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.