Things that go bump in the office
Who knew that the workplace could be so scary?
With its softly humming fluorescent lights, bland cubicle walls and plastic rent-a-plants, the average workplace is designed to intentionally not be very off-putting. Granted, there are exceptions (and I’m sorry if you have to work in an exception), but the average workplace tries hard to be a non-menacing place to spend your waking hours.
Yet the average workplace is also a hotbed of fear. Every day my co-workers and I are skittering and gasping as we run into our fears – fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of being forgotten.
The fears aren’t always obvious. Sometimes you have to look beneath the surface to recognize them. But they are all around.
I saw them in a colleague when she made it a core competency to point out the failures of every department outside her own. She was always critical of someone’s performance, someone’s inattention to detail, someone’s lack of follow-through. I reacted poorly when our department was in her sights (once again scientifically proving the acclaimed hypothesis that two wrongs do not, in fact, make a right), until I realized she was acting out of her own fears of inadequacy. For her, the possibility of being a corporate scapegoat overpowered her ability to work and play well with others. Her fears were driving her to do some scary things on her own.
Scripture tells us we should not fear man nor the things of this world. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?” (Psalm 27:1).
Be on guard for the next time you act out of fear. It’s sometimes hard to see, since it feels real when it happens. But if we focus on being aligned with God’s will for our work life, our fears will be more evident. In Ecclesiastes 5:7, Solomon counsels a redirect, that we put our fear of worldly things aside: “For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God.” The Psalmist adds, “How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord.” Psalm 128:1.
But it’s still OK to fear that plastic dieffenbachia plant in the company lunchroom. That thing is definitely scary.
When do you most experience fear at work? How do you put that fear back in the can?
With its softly humming fluorescent lights, bland cubicle walls and plastic rent-a-plants, the average workplace is designed to intentionally not be very off-putting. Granted, there are exceptions (and I’m sorry if you have to work in an exception), but the average workplace tries hard to be a non-menacing place to spend your waking hours.
Yet the average workplace is also a hotbed of fear. Every day my co-workers and I are skittering and gasping as we run into our fears – fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of being forgotten.
The fears aren’t always obvious. Sometimes you have to look beneath the surface to recognize them. But they are all around.
I saw them in a colleague when she made it a core competency to point out the failures of every department outside her own. She was always critical of someone’s performance, someone’s inattention to detail, someone’s lack of follow-through. I reacted poorly when our department was in her sights (once again scientifically proving the acclaimed hypothesis that two wrongs do not, in fact, make a right), until I realized she was acting out of her own fears of inadequacy. For her, the possibility of being a corporate scapegoat overpowered her ability to work and play well with others. Her fears were driving her to do some scary things on her own.
Scripture tells us we should not fear man nor the things of this world. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?” (Psalm 27:1).
Be on guard for the next time you act out of fear. It’s sometimes hard to see, since it feels real when it happens. But if we focus on being aligned with God’s will for our work life, our fears will be more evident. In Ecclesiastes 5:7, Solomon counsels a redirect, that we put our fear of worldly things aside: “For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God.” The Psalmist adds, “How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord.” Psalm 128:1.
But it’s still OK to fear that plastic dieffenbachia plant in the company lunchroom. That thing is definitely scary.
When do you most experience fear at work? How do you put that fear back in the can?
posted by Tom Petersen at 12:06 AM
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