The psychology of fear in organizations : how to transform anxiety into well-being, productivity and innovation / Sheila M. Keegan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Keegan, Sheila, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Organizational behavior.

Fear.

Management--Psychological aspects.

Management.

Organizational effectiveness.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (287 p.)

Place of Publication:

London, [England] : Kogan Page, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the context of global economic recession, fear has become institutionalized in many organizations, both in the private and public sectors. Board directors are under pressure from shareholders, senior executives are attempting to maintain sales in a nervous market and many people are concerned about job security and maintaining their living standards. This book shows how fear manifests itself in large organizations, how it impacts on the workforce and how by reducing our willingness to take risks and to innovate, it can inhibit economic growth and innovation, at both an individual and corpor

Contents:

Title; Copyright; Contents; Preface; Notes; Part One The nature of fear and how it shapes organizations; 01 The paradox of fear; The scope of this book; What instils fear in organizations?; Fear as a cultural norm; The climate of fear; Fear gets a bad press; The shame and embarrassment of fear; Emotional contagion; Fear in different organizations; Organizations old and new; Large organizations under pressure; And yet, some things don't change; The impact of the recession; Organizational diversity; Organizational styles; Psychological health at work; Managing and using fear

Re-humanizing the workplaceNotes; 02 The cultural backdrop of fear; The backdrop of fear and uncertainty within the workplace; 2007/8 and the cold winds of recession blew in; The economists' explanation; The widespread residue of fear in the workplace; Notes; 03 Perspectives on fear; Exploring the boundaries of fear; Fear and the unexpected; The role of fear; The physiology of fear; Fear in practice; The feeling of fear; How fear works; Fear is contagious; The Hillsborough disaster; Distortion of fear; Superhumans; Using fear to our advantage; Fear in the workplace - and elsewhere; Notes

04 Cultures of fear within organizationsThe long tail of the recession; The end of a job for life; The uncertain future; Symptoms of fear in the workplace; How can we gauge fear?; The effects of fear on organizational life; The tendency to do what we have always done; Following the leader; Fear undermines performance; Workplace productivity at an all-time low; Studies on mental health in the workplace; Studies on workplace climate and trends; The UK Government Skills and Employment Survey 201214; The Towers Watson Global Workforce Study17

The Gallup 'State of the Global Workplace' study 201218Gauging 'reality'; Fear as a management tool; Notes; 05 Feeling fear at work; The hidden fear at work; Recognizing fear and mistrust in organizations; Patterns of fear and distrust; Indications of a disengaged workforce; Classic symptoms of disengagement; The growth of mistrust; Bullying at work; Bullying as a cultural issue; Cyber bullying; The complexities of whistle-blowing within an organizational context; When fear stimulates, energizes and motivates us; Differences in how people respond to fear in the workplace; Notes

06 Over-control and manipulation in the workplaceThe power of control; Control and order; The Industrial Revolution; The Hawthorne experiments; The unintended consequences of target culture; How targets can distort staff initiatives; Underpinnings of fear; Target culture within the UK police service; The effects of performance targets on police behaviour; Personal judgement vs procedures; What role should targets play?; Targets that hinder, targets that help; Trust and the impact of targets; Targets in practice: Machiavellian manipulations

Targets at their worst: failures of the Mid Staffordshire NHS foundation trust

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-7494-7255-3

OCLC:

901274254