A workforce is a collection of individuals, each with their own personalities, skills, and ambitions, working together to reach a common goal. In order for any workforce to be successful, it’s vital that each employee is respected for their own unique blend of characteristics, their individual resources, and given ample opportunity to develop their talents. When organizations fail to nurture these qualities, they risk creating an environment of collective tension that undermines collaboration and performance.
Unfortunately, in many workplaces the emphasis can rest too heavily on output without taking the individual into proper consideration. This imbalance often leads to collective tension, where employees feel undervalued and disconnected from the organization’s mission.
How Collective Tension Manifests
Fear of Action and Mistakes
Collective tension can be easily identified in workplaces where employees are nervous, stressed, and under-confident. It’s no surprise that an individual who feels undervalued at work might also begin to doubt their professional capabilities. Simply put, employees who don’t feel assured in their way of thinking will cease to voice their opinion at all. Or, if they’re unsure of their ability to complete a project, they won’t propose it or volunteer to begin with. When individuals are too afraid to take action or make mistakes, workplaces become stagnant and innovation grinds to a halt.
This climate of fear stifles workplace communication and discourages employees from sharing ideas or taking initiative. The result: low innovation level combined with low spirit, and inflexibility. In such less dynamic environments, goals are often not achieved.
Distrust
Individuals that feel overlooked are likely to become resentful. They might assume their personal development is not a priority and therefore become reluctant to make their organization’s success a priority in return. As more and more employees begin to feel similarly, distrust and unease will breed collective tension. The resulting workforce is unresponsive, uncommunicative, and unwilling to go the extra mile for the common good.
Distrust erodes employee development efforts and weakens the bonds necessary for effective teamwork, but leads to frustration, demotivation, low commitments, ultimately to internal resignation and a very costly employee turnover.
Silo Thinking
When collective tension is high, relationships break down and individuals become preoccupied with their own wants and needs. Predictably, this isn’t the kind of environment where collaboration thrives, but rather where division becomes the new normal. Silo thinking occurs as individuals stop looking outwards for new insights or support and as a result, communication becomes ineffective and progress is sluggish.
Overcoming silo thinking is essential for any organization aiming to foster workplace communication and innovation. Learn more about breaking down silos.
The Solution to Collective Tension: Individual Empowerment
Fortunately, there is a solution. The best remedy for collective tension and its consequences is individual empowerment. Through learning and development initiatives that respect the workforce as a varied assembly of individuals, organizations can benefit from stronger working relationships and better communication.
By investing in employee development and prioritizing human-to-human communication, organizations replace collective tension with confident, fulfilled, and responsive team members. Empowered individuals are more likely to collaborate, share ideas, and drive innovation.
Individual empowerment not only dissolves collective tension but also transforms the workplace into a space where every employee feels valued and motivated to contribute to shared goals.
