Seth Godin defines sheepwalking as "the outcome of hiring people who have been raised to be obedient and giving them brain-dead jobs and enough fear to keep them in line." These are the people who don't question their purpose at work, who color inside the lines, and are compliant with managers who lead by fear.

"The fault doesn't lie with the employee, at least not at first," says Godin in his book Tribes.

But what happens when you instead build or work for an organization that treats people with respect and trust? Simply put, "when you hire amazing people and give them freedom, they do amazing stuff," explains Godin.

A simple test for sheepwalking
Godin says that a thermostat is far more valuable than a thermometer. Here's the difference:

• A thermometer points out when something is broken. "They criticize or point out or just whine," says Godin.
• A thermostat, on the other hand, changes the environment based on the outside world. "Every organization needs at least one thermostat.
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If you think workplace bullying is a bigger issue than managers often suspect, you’re right. Research supports that workplace bullying simply often goes unreported but it’s still happening. In their Employee Rights and Employee Policy Journal article, Researchers Loraleigh Keashly and Joel H. Neuman said a study of the VA healthcare system, the VA Project, showed a gap between those who experienced workplace bullying and those who reported it their experience to a supervisor. “Of the people identified as being exposed to bullying behavior (36 percent of the total sample), 53 reported their experience to a supervisor. An even smaller proportion (15 percent) filed a formal grievance.”

Possible reasons for not reporting bulling behavior at work:

• Lack of awareness of what one is experiencing
• Feeling each bullying incident is minor in isolation
• Fear of being deemed “overly sensitive” or unable to adapt to the work culture
• Feeling the organization isn’t supportive of employee concerns
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