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Introduction
A decade ago, workplaces were abuzz with the promise of psychological safety, candid feedback, and inclusive dialogue. Employees were encouraged to bring their full selves to work, engage in uncomfortable conversations, and share perspectives shaped by diverse experiences. This culture was meant to elevate accountability and humanity in how we lead and collaborate. But somewhere along the way, a new orthodoxy began to take root—one that confuses accountability with punishment, disagreement with harm, and neutrality with betrayal.
Today, that vision is under siege—not from external pressures, but from a creeping internal culture of fear. We are in the age of cancel culture at work—where honest conversations are replaced by hushed compliance, and employees walk on eggshells rather than speak their minds. What once was a culture of courage has become one of caution, where saying the wrong thing, however unintentionally, can mean professional exile.
In this article we will unpack how cancel culture is muting innovation, punishing dissent, and quietly eroding workplace trust. More importantly, we’ll explore how leaders can rebuild environments where courage is rewarded, not punished.
1. The Rise of Fear-Based Communication
In many organizations, employees fear saying the wrong thing more than they fear doing the wrong thing. A manager at a tech firm hesitated to give constructive feedback to a team member after a comment they made was taken out of context and posted anonymously on social media.
According to a 2022 MIT Sloan study, 43% of employees say they avoid expressing controversial views at work for fear of backlash.
Innovation thrives on friction. When fear stifles dialogue, progress stalls. This climate of anxiety discourages the boldness required for true innovation. As employees retreat into self-censorship, organizations lose their competitive edge.
2. Language Landmines and Overcorrection
Microaggressions must be addressed—but when every phrase becomes a potential offense, employees default to silence. In a global finance company, a senior analyst was disciplined for using the phrase “you guys” in a meeting. The HR response created tension and confusion.
In past workplace eras, speech codes were tools of suppression. Today’s overcorrection risks repeating history from a different angle.
Communication becomes robotic, strained, and less inclusive in spirit. When vocabulary is policed without context, people disengage. Over-policing language erodes authenticity and weakens team cohesion.
3. Punishment Without Process
Cancel culture bypasses due process. Accusation becomes conviction. A long-serving VP was abruptly removed after a junior employee tweeted an out-of-context quote. No formal investigation followed. We must ensure that justice requires process, not perception.
Where there is no such process, trust in leadership and fairness evaporates. Skipping process undermines both morale and legal integrity. Employees begin to view HR as a threat rather than a resource.
4. The Silent Exodus of High Performers
High performers who thrive on challenge and candor are quietly exiting companies where honesty is punished. A top engineer at a biotech firm resigned after his concerns about product design were dismissed as “insensitive.” Gallup data reveals that 1 in 5 high performers report feeling “culturally misaligned” in politically charged workplaces.
As we promote cancel culture, the best people though present in-person, first switch off and evenutlaly leave. The culture stays broken. These exits are often unnoticed until productivity declines. Remaining team members are demoralized by the loss of outspoken contributors.
Psychological safety is dying in politically correct cultures and leaders must bring it back. – Dr. Abiola Salami, Worldclass Performance Strategist
5. Weaponization of DEI Language
Diversity initiatives are essential. But in some companies, DEI language is used as a sword, not a bridge.
It was reproted that a marketing director suggested a campaign adjustment. A team member accused him of cultural insensitivity, and leadership sided with optics over dialogue.
Except we pay attention, DEI becomes performative. Real inclusion becomes impossible. True equity requires honest feedback and shared standards. When weaponized, DEI loses credibility and impact.
6. The Decline of Feedback Culture
Feedback is the heartbeat of performance. Cancel culture replaces it with passive-aggressive silence—or public shaming. A project manager stopped giving feedback after being labeled “abrasive” for a well-documented critique. Deadlines slipped. No one said why.
Cancel culture kills coaching efforts. Mediocrity replaces momentum. Managers fear being misinterpreted and withdraw. Employees lose valuable developmental input.
7. Over-Sanctifying Lived Experience
Lived experience is vital—but it shouldn’t eclipse facts, context, or shared standards. When a team member refuses process updates, saying, “That’s not how it feels to me.” The leader, fearing backlash, caved. This elongatede turnaround time and customer was
The best organizations blend emotional truth with operational reality. Standards collapse when feelings override facts. Emotional narratives are important, but they need balancing. Sustainable decisions require collective reasoning.
8. The Tyranny of Anonymous Feedback
Anonymous channels are critical—but in cancel cultures, they become tools for retribution. Sometime ago, an anonymous employee feedback form was used to accuse a department head of being “unapproachable.” Without details or dialogue, they were reassigned.
A 2023 HBR survey found that anonymous feedback is 37% more negative—and 3x more likely to lead to HR escalations. Fear grows. Accountability disappears. Without context, anonymous comments sow mistrust. Leaders become reactive instead of responsive.
9. Performative Outrage and Social Capital
In some companies, outrage is a career move. Employees build influence by policing others. A junior employee publicly called out a colleague for “tone policing” in a Slack thread. They were promoted months later, citing their “bravery.” Real courage is building bridges, not burning peers. Rewarding division incentivizes dysfunction. Public call-outs become political theater. It undermines team morale and unity.
10. Manager Paralysis and Moral Confusion
Leaders now manage more with caution than with clarity. A team leader avoided addressing chronic lateness because the employee had a history of social activism. The rest of the team grew resentful. Cultural credibility crumbles when managers fear accountability. When standards aren’t enforced, resentment grows. Trust erodes both upward and laterally.
Conclusion: Reclaiming Psychological Safety
Cancel culture didn’t start with malice. It began with good intentions: accountability, inclusion, and voice. But it has morphed into a system where fear trumps feedback, and self-righteousness silences sincerity.
So how do we restore balance?
Leaders must reward transparency, not just alignment, distinguish offense from harm, train teams on disagreement with dignity and create space for reentry—not just exile. Because progress should not come at the cost of paranoia.
Brave cultures aren’t built on silence. They’re built on truth, grace, and the courage to have messy conversations.
Next Steps:
If you want to audit your culture for fear-based behaviors OR retrain your team on healthy conflict and psychological safety, contact us on +2347026668008 or hello@abiolachamp.com
Let’s instill a culture of peak performance in your organization.
About Dr. Abiola Salami
Dr. Abiola Salami is the Convener of Dr Abiola Salami International Leadership Bootcamp ; The Peak PerformerTM Festival Made4More Accelerator Program and The New Year Kickoff Summit. He is the Principal Performance Strategist at CHAMP – a full scale professional services firm trusted by high performing business leaders for providing Executive Coaching, Workforce Development & Advisory Services to improve performance. You can reach his team on hello@abiolachamp.com and connect with him @abiolachamp on all social media platforms.
