The millennials coined a term called FOMO, or Fear of Missing Out.
Today, mid- and senior-level managers, as well as more senior business owners, are now going through FOBO: Fear of Being Obsolete.
Because nobody wakes up one morning and discovers they have become irrelevant overnight.
Irrelevance is not a heart attack.
It is high blood pressure: silent, gradual, and ignored until something breaks.
Fast Company recently ran a piece by Featured.com, "12 Signs You’re Becoming Irrelevant at Work." The executives and coaches each named a warning sign. Together they point to one uncomfortable conclusion.
Ekta Capoor of Amazing Workplaces said, "Relevance is rarely lost overnight. It fades when learning stops."
Again, it fades when learning stops.Not age.
Not the younger hire.
Not the new technology.
Those are just the moments that reveal the gap, a gap dug quietly over months and years by someone who stopped learning and never noticed.
This column first appeared in The Philippine Star on 27 September 2026.
Read Francis Kong's columns in The Philippine Star: https://www.philstar.com/authors/1325498/francis-j-kong
Questions this article answers
What is the Fear of Being Obsolete (FOBO)?
FOBO refers to the anxiety experienced by mid- and senior-level managers who fear becoming irrelevant in their roles.
How does irrelevance in the workplace happen?
Irrelevance fades in gradually when learning stops, not because of age, younger hires, or new technology.