Pharmacists who supervise others often use threats to influence behavior. They may not mean to threaten, but to the people they supervise -- it is a threat.
Threats occur whenever a pharmacist manager emphasizes rewards or punishments in motivating behaviors. Rewards and punishments are opposite sides of the same coin -- I will punish you, I will reward you, I will punish you by withholding a reward, or I will reward you by not punishing you.
Threats can be strongly worded, “Do this or you will be fired,” or oblique, “If you don’t meet the deadline, I don’t know what we’ll do.” Any threat causes employees to protect themselves.
Pharmacists often carelessly make explicit and implicit threats on employees without realizing the consequences on employee productivity. When employees feel threatened, they may protect
themselves in multiple ways – join unions, avoid the boss, withhold information, organize resistance amongst coworkers, or find a new job.
The take-home point is ---- use threats sparingly and know the potential unintended consequences when doing so.
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