The unspoken truth about fear as motivation.

Fear of losing one's job is the Damocles sword swaying over my head and those of my associates. Though no one has been terminated (sanitary, isn't it?) in the last year, many positions were eliminated three years ago when my employer purchased the newspaper I work for. Redundant/overlapping positions disappear in mergers, but such losses and a(n) (undelivered) promise of raises if the newsroom tripled its output immediately got our attention.

The newsroom quickly increased output — almost enthusiastically — because our publisher offered balanced negative and positive information (Welbourne, 1995). Our commitment to the company was ultimately eviscerated when increases were not given after a year of intensive performance. Permanent distrust by most and outright hatred by others resulted in poorly written and researched stories, or what Welbourne refers to as "maladaptive behavior" (p. 34).

Should we all be worried?

The economy is flat, but even if it weren't, we live in a "scaredy-cat society," (Reeves, 2006) where job insecurity is part of a bigger problem, where we "pay the price for (our) own paranoia, hanging on to unsatisfactory jobs for fear of the unknown, toeing the corporate line rather than cutting (our) own path for fear of rejection, and avoiding risky initiatives for fear of failure."

We may fear losing our jobs but our employers are happy because we "forget everything else and cater to the aroused need first" (Shaw & Shaw, n.d.).

Welbourne, T. (1995). Fear: the misunderstood component of organizational transformation. Human Resource Planning, 18(1), 30-37.

Reeves, R. (2006). The goblins that stalk us. Management Today, October, p. 21.

Shaw, K. & Shaw, P. (n.d.) Motivation. Retrieved July 10, 2007, from http:// laynenetworks.com/Motivation.html.