Today, downsizings, redundancies, performance appraisals and layoffs are the leading causes of fear in organizations. Most managers influence and control their people’s behavior with fear. They are accused of causing massive and real health problems to people across the globe. They are the contributors to the world enemy number one for people which is “stress.”

Stress slows learning, interferes with memory, lowers the immune system, increases blood pressure and heart rates. It kills the human body if people are stressed for longer periods of time.  With that in mind, those who motivate their staff with fear have become “silent killers.” This term is not my invention but is a medical term that refers to the untreated hypertension caused by the exposure to constant stress.