When FOMO goes to work

By Pamela J. Gallagher

If you’ve ever watched a colleague find their way into “the room where it happens,” to quote the Broadway musical Hamilton, or a childhood friend share pictures of their once-in-a-lifetime tour through Europe, you’ve probably felt it:

FOMO, or the Fear of Missing Out.

When people experience FOMO, they feel anxious about missing out on experiences, opportunities, or social interactions that others are having. While this term has traditionally been associated with our responses to what we observe others doing via their social media profiles, it is now a growing concern in professional environments. 

In the workplace, FOMO can look like anxiety about missing out on important information, updates, or opportunities for interaction that could impact whether you are valued in your organization, succeed in your job, or advance in your career. 

FOMO and transparency

The rise of FOMO in an organization has a direct effect on transparent communication. This is a problem, because transparency is highly valued by most employees today. A culture of transparency can provide benefits such as trust between teammates and between managers and employees, increased opportunities to collaborate, equal access to up-to-date information, and a safe environment to try new ideas.

When FOMO enters the picture, however, information ceases to be a shared resource to reach a common goal, and instead becomes a liability or means to control.

Information as liability

FOMO can cause some individuals to withhold information. They may fear judgment or exclusion if their true opinions were out in the open. This person fears a loss of crucial working relationships or respect in the workplace. Their experience of FOMO tells them that it is simply too risky to share opinions or ideas that go against the grain. This can create a lack of authenticity in communication and hinder open, honest dialogue.

Information as control

For others, FOMO can cause them to grasp for control by withholding information while demanding transparency from others. It’s a tactic that maintains their advantage and keeps others in the dark. They react to feelings of FOMO by ensuring there is no “missing out” to fear. They choose to hoard information rather than sharing it so they do not get left out or left behind.

The need for reciprocal transparency

Paradoxically, transparent communication is the solution to easing employees’ experience of FOMO.  But it cannot be transparency only from the top down, or an expectation that all employees should be open and honest with their supervisors while supervisors hold all the cards and sensitive information.  Transparency that leaves no room for FOMO must be reciprocal, a shared value and expectation at all levels of an organization.

A pattern of a lack of communication can make people feel out of the loop, sparking FOMO. On the flip side, that fear of missing out can make people hoard information or skew transparency to avoid being left behind themselves. 

People who demand transparency but then refuse to reciprocate communication create an unbalanced and frustrating dynamic. This behavior undermines trust and collaboration, leading to a communication breakdown. 

If an employee has a feeling that something is off in their team’s communication, or is beginning to feel like they are missing something, my advice is to simply ask rather than allowing FOMO to take root. The mistrust and lack of communication FOMO causes can spread like a virus throughout an organization, making it nearly impossible to reach an organization’s goals and serve its patients effectively.

Reciprocal transparency, even when it feels like a risk, is the key.

However…

That said, anytime I discuss transparency as an organizational value, one nagging question tends to linger:

Have we perhaps placed a little too much emphasis on the need for transparency?

Are we so sure of its benefits that we’ve forgotten to be discerning about its drawbacks and occasions when it may not be appropriate or helpful? I’ll share my thoughts on that question in my next article.