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Survey Reveals Fear Impacts Risk Taking, Decision Making and Customer Service in the Workplace
Contacts:
Robyn Massey
+44-(0)20-7611-3852 or +1-646-935-3911
Julia Shikhman
+1-646-935-3912
New York and London, July 8, 2009 – One in every three employees of companies in the United States and the United Kingdom is fearful of losing his or her job, according to a recent survey by change management consulting firm Stromberg Consulting and conducted by Braun Research. Yet in an interesting twist, on the surface, data suggest productivity may be up overall; more than half of those fearful in the U.S. and 40 percent in the U.K. say they are working harder as a result.According to Stromberg Consulting, a certain amount of tension in the workplace is positive as it can encourage employees to perform better. But at a certain point, the added stress takes its toll on employees’ physical and mental health – which raises the possibility that employees might leave their current place of employment for a lower-stress environment as soon as the economy improves.
Fear Stifles Decision Making
Based on the survey findings, fear is also causing organization-wide delay in decision making. Across all levels of an organization, smart risk-taking and timely decision-making behaviors are stifled by fears of a worsening economy. A significant portion of employees of U.S. and U.K. companies who fear job loss say they are afraid to take risks; 25 percent of employees of U.S. companies believe fear is delaying critical business decisions.
When decisions are finally made, only half of employees believe managers and senior leaders are making the right decisions to position their organizations for economic recovery.
“Managers need to help employees cope with workplace anxiety,” said David Rockland, Ph.D., partner and managing director of Ketchum Global Research Network and Stromberg Consulting. “Fear of job loss can drive increased short-term productivity, but it is not sustainable for an organization in the long run.”
Fear Impacts Customer Service and Advocacy
Customer service has also been affected by worried employees. According to the survey, 1 in 10 fearful employees say they are less enthusiastic about servicing customers. In addition, almost two-thirds of those who report little to no fear are willing to recommend their company’s products and services; this compares to those who report high levels of fear, of which 37 percent are willing to recommend their company’s products and services.
“The impact of fear is experienced at all levels of the organization, from senior leadership to those at the front line serving customers,” said Rockland.
Other findings include:
- Only one-third of fearful employees would recommend their companies to others as an enjoyable place to work. This compares to those with little to no fear, of which almost half would recommend their companies to job seekers.
- Corporate reputation is being damaged, as employees who strongly fear losing their jobs are more likely to have (and share) negative views about their company’s futures.
- Fear impacts everyone regardless of geography, gender, age or income level. When it comes to employee fears, U.K. and U.S. workers are very similar.
About the survey
The survey was conducted by Braun Research via phone April 3-10, 2009. In total, 501 employed adults in the U.S. and 503 employed adults in the U.K. were surveyed, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points for the total sample and plus or minus 5.5 percentage points for each subgroup.
About Stromberg Consulting
Stromberg Consulting is a change management consultancy with offices in New York, Atlanta, Chicago and London. A Ketchum company, Stromberg leverages focus on leadership alignment and development, employee engagement and development, organizational design and alignment, and assessment and measurement. For more information, visit www.strombergconsulting.com.
About Ketchum
A communications innovator, Ketchum ranks among the largest global communications consultancies and leads the industry in the U.K. and continental Europe as Ketchum Pleon. With five global practices – Brand Marketing, Corporate, Healthcare, Food and Nutrition, and Technology – and specialty capabilities that include Access Communications (high- and consumer-tech PR www.accesspr.com), Concentric Communications (experiential marketing, events and meetings), MMG (clinical trial recruitment), Ketchum Global Research Network, Ketchum Sports and Entertainment Marketing, and Stromberg Consulting (change management and workplace communications), Ketchum leverages its marketing and corporate communication expertise to build brands and reputations for clients. In 2009, Advertising Age named Ketchum to its annual “Ones to Watch” Agency A-List, noting the agency’s long-standing client partnerships, digital and disruptive media expertise, and CSR and sustainability programming.For more information on Ketchum, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC), visit www.ketchum.com.
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