Are you working in a fear-based environment? – The Irish Times

When you have a concern at work do you raise it immediately, think it through carefully before mentioning it or just stay quiet? Is it safer to turn a blind eye to colleagues’ problematic behaviours and poor decision-making? Have you concealed your own mistakes instead of speaking up?

If any of those scenarios feel familiar, you may be working in a fear-based environment, and you are far from alone.

A study of more than 1,000 workers across 27 industries in 2025 by PwC Ireland, the Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey, found that almost one in two Irish workers say their team treats failure as an opportunity to learn and grow. For the other half though, speaking up carries a penalty they would rather not pay.

Microsoft’s Ireland Work Trend Index 2025 found that between 38 per cent and 40 per cent of Irish workers reported moving roles, marking a record for the survey. The main reasons people changed employer were work-life balance, wellbeing, issues with a direct manager, and company culture.

Workers aren’t just moving for higher salaries or to work from home, they’re leaving bad cultures.

When people are afraid to speak up, that’s the foundation on which fear-based cultures are built. Workplace investigator and solicitor, Clara O’Sullivan of Clara O’Sullivan Workplace Investigations, says poor behaviours can become a vicious circle unless there is intervention.

Individuals in fear-based workplaces often report feeling excluded or belittled in conversations with colleagues or managers. They might be humiliated publicly and unduly punished with poor performance reviews. Often they’re anxious, fearful and feel unsafe telling anyone what’s happening.

Sometimes it’s more subtle than public shaming though, says O’Sullivan, and can include micromanaging, exclusion, setting unreasonable job targets, sarcasm, spreading rumours and making innuendos.

“It can be really, really difficult to deal with when the person who is the problem is also the person with all the power,” she says. “That’s often when you hear the sound of silence.”

Psychological safety

Psychological safety is what is needed instead. A positive work environment isn’t happy-clappy about avoiding difficult conversations; it is simply a culture that promotes honest, respectful communication.

An analysis of Irish workplace mental health trends by business lobby group, Ibec, this year found that psychological safety is firmly linked to trust, innovation and engagement in Irish organisations. “When people feel safe to contribute, question and even say ‘I’m struggling’ without fear of negative consequence, workplaces function better. Teams become more open. Leaders gain insight. And culture shifts from silence to support.”

A fear-based culture is not just a people issue, it can trigger legal problems says O’Sullivan. Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, Irish employers are legally required to assess and address psychosocial risks and the management practices and workplace conditions that may damage employee mental health.

Ibec says it strongly encourages organisations’ boards and leadership teams to not leave this legal responsibility to HR alone but to embed psychosocial risk assessment and remedies into governance and policy.

For serious wrongdoing of a criminal or legal nature, there are additional legal protections for whistleblowers under the Protected Disclosures Act 2022. This helps protect workers who report wrongdoing in their workplace from being dismissed, penalised or from other retaliatory sanctions by their employers.

Reports on wrongdoing may include criminal or illegal behaviour, environmental destruction, endangering an individual’s health and safety, improper use of funds, discrimination, gross mismanagement or concealment of evidence of wrongdoing.

More frequently though, employees encounter interpersonal conflicts and not criminal wrongdoing. The Workplace Relations Commission notes that “matters concerning interpersonal conflict between the worker and another colleague, or their employer, does not generally constitute a wrongdoing under the Act. Such conflicts should be dealt with through the internal grievance procedure provided for by the employer.”..

Targeting

Fear-based cultures need to be addressed in a strategic way by both individuals and organisations.

In toxic cultures, individuals who have healthy boundaries – who call out or refuse to tolerate bullying, a lack of integrity, gaslighting or game playing – can be the ones who end up with a target in their back. Those who support the bully, the sycophants, tend to bury their heads in the sand for a quiet life or to avoid becoming a target themselves. This can also lead to an individual being scapegoated and targeted by the group, led by the bully.

Canadian academic and organisational psychologist, Cynthia Mathieu has researched “dark personalities” and workplace conflict extensively and says it can sometimes be unsafe to share concerns in toxic workplaces.

“Some colleagues can offer support; however, they are often in the same situation and concerned about their own wellbeing and jobs. If you are experiencing a toxic workplace, seek help and support from friends, family and professionals outside your organisation, especially if you plan to lodge a formal complaint. You need a support team before blowing the whistle.”

It is important to build alliances internally too. Fear-based cultures depend on isolation, on an individual believing their experience is unique and their concerns are imagined or unprovable. When colleagues compare notes and identify common patterns, the reality will become harder for the company to dismiss.

Action

So, what can you do informally and formally to deal with the issue? One way to raise a red flag might be to complain anonymously about an individual(s) problematic behaviour.

However, it is important to note that organisations are not obliged to investigate anonymous disclosures, O’Sullivan says. “In Ireland, the rules of natural justice are enshrined in our legal system. These rules are clear: the accused is entitled to know their accuser. So if someone is being investigated, they must know the name of the person making the complaint.”

If the organisation is aware of bad behaviour, it can escalate things depending on how it is reported and its seriousness. One way in to the issue – whether there has been a formal report or not – is to conduct regular culture surveys and provide training that focuses on expected behaviours and norms.

“This helps with conversation, debate and empowers people with information and techniques on how to speak up against offenders,” says O’Sullivan.

Empowering bystanders to speak up helps too. “You mightn’t realise it but wrongdoing often comes to light by others observing it.

“You can have all the policies in the world but unless you are willing to train people on the policy and get them talking about it and acting on it then nothing changes,” says O’Sullivan.

Employee assistance programmes may also offer a range of supports, including individual counselling, formal support for victims, bystanders and the accused, organisational support to address the issue at a structural level, mediation and conflict resolution, safe spaces to talk and early intervention training for managers.

“Silence is a fertile ground for these [toxic] behaviours. If not nipped in the bud, they will escalate,” says O’Sullivan. The bottom line is: You don’t have to suffer in silence.

Margaret E Ward is chief executive of Clear Eye, a leadership consultancy margaret@cleareye.ie