If you assume that fear in the workplace, Deming's #8 is intended to be defined as only extrinsic motivation force - or perhaps the primary extrinsic motivation force, then the concept is warranted. But when one interprets it as all fear, I do not accept that as valid.
Most natural and genetic origins of fear may not likely to apply to the workplace, but intrinsic fear - and to some degree extrinsic, such as customer dissatisfaction - can readily support caution. Is there a negative result that one would temper with caution that holds no basis in fear- even based on the probability of the negative result occurring? That is, if the result is negative, is its negativity sufficient to support some fear?