In this slow economy, employees are so afraid of making mistakes that they're not up with par to their creative potential.
According to a recent study by Robert Half International, a staffing agency, workers are so focused on following policies that they don't want to take risks.
And companies need employees to take chances in order to promote creativity.
In 2011, workers were so afraid of "appearing less dedicated" that they didn't take 70 percent, or 11 days, of their vacation benefits.
Here are other highlights from the survey:
30 percent of people said their biggest fear is making a mistake.
18 percent said they are scared of difficult consumers or clients.
15 percent said they are afraid of conflicts with a manager.
13 percent of workers are afraid of speaking in front of others.
- 13 percent of workers are fearful of arguing with their co-workers.
In a post at Forbes, David K. Williams writes that in order to promote fearlessness at work, employers need to learn how to truly trust their workers.
This will give employees more space to come up with their own solutions when things don't go as planned. Eventually, this way of thinking will encourage innovation and promote fresh, new solutions to the same old problems.
