Carlson, R.
(1998).
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff at Work.
"Ed worked for a bio-technology company for five years. Part of his job was to consolidate, cut costs and help his company become 'lean.' He told me something so awful I almost didn't believe him. 'I hate to admit it, but I used to get a thrill out of firing people. I didn't think of myself as a horrible person or anything like that, but cutting costs meant more to me than the effects it had on the people involved. That's how I measured my effectiveness, and that's how I was judged. The fact that these people were scared and didn't know what to do, or that they had three children to support and rent to pay, had no effect on me whatsoever. Then, one day it happened to me! Out of the blue, I was fired, or "let go" as they put it. I'm sure many people were happy and thought I deserved it. I suppose I did, but I can tell you that, painful as it was, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me—it opened my eyes to my compassion. I'll never treat people like that again.'" (p. 196)
Ciulla, J. B.
(2001).
The Working Life: The Promise and Betrayal of Modern Work.
"fear is the oldest way to get people to work. Explicit fear, such as knowing that we will be fired, has limited benefit because it can depress, paralyze, debilitate, or infuriate us... Employees may eventually burn out or self-destruct, but they will put in more work, for a while. Today's company men and women work longer hours and tolerate greater pressure than Whyte's organization man." (p. 162)