For continued success a business must be agile so that it remains competitive and customer focused. Constant change is, therefore, the new norm. A key role of senior management is to support their employees through the process of change.
Whilst change may be seen as essential for the survival and growth of a business, data suggests that about 70% of all organisational change initiatives fail. Why is this and what can managers do?
Employee mistrust of changes imposed from above, coupled with feelings of uncertainty and anxiety about the impact of the change, all play a role in the failure of change initiatives. However, there is growing evidence that one of the most common reasons change initiatives fail is due to “change fatigue”
When employees demonstrate change fatigue they show a passive resignation or apathy towards the change initiative. This occurs because they feel that too many changes have taken place in their organisation.
Change fatigue can have significant and wide-ranging negative impact on employees. If staff have experienced what they consider to be unreasonable or unnecessary changes, or if there is too little time for consolidation between change initiative, they may start to react badly to new initiatives. This is because the change brings on feelings of helplessness and powerlessness. They feel that they are unable to influence the events that are happening to them.
Research has shown that change fatigue can be highly stressful to individuals. It has been associated with emotional exhaustion and burnout. This can be expressed in the form of a cynical and negative attitude in staff. This cynicism can quickly transmit itself throughout the organisation, leading to a general atmosphere of negativity at all levels.
Staff experiencing change fatigue may also feel alienated from the business. Alienation occurs because they no longer feel that their contribution or their opinions count. As a result, change fatigue decreases job satisfaction, lowers motivation and reduces commitment whilst encouraging withdrawal behaviour, absenteeism and increased staff turnover.
Job performance is also adversely affected. Change fatigue depletes an employee’s mental and physical energy and reduces their own self-confidence in their abilities. Innovation and creativity are stifled and change fatigue tends to discourage the co-operative behaviours that underpin an organisation’s effectiveness. As a result, the work-life balance of the employee may be adversely affected. The anxiety the employees feel about the change can make it difficult for them to “switch off” from work concerns. This creates a negative spiral affecting their personal well-being and job performance.
Because of these many negative effects, managers need to be aware of, and actively manage, change fatigue. They need to increase their employees’ acceptance of the change and also protect their well-being and effectiveness during the change process.
So what can managers do to manage change fatigue? Here are twelve tips:
- Managers need to be aware of the process of change fatigue and how it can manifest itself in their employees.
- It is important to communicate the reasons why change is required and provide your employees with regular updates on the change process. A lack of information exacerbates the problem.
- Managers should create long-term strategic plans rather than relying on shorter-term reactive strategies.
- Try to limit the number of changes. It is more effective to focus on small improvements rather than large scale, top down transformations.
- Communicate successes by highlighting the previous change initiatives that have led to tangible improvements.
- Do a proper risk analysis before implementation to identify the unintentional consequences of any changes that may be introduced.
- Be prepared for a reduction in performance or productivity. Change initiatives often involve additional work and so can disrupt the routine for the short term.
- Listen to those affected by the change. Don’t just impose it from the top. Your employees are experts on their job so listen to their concerns and take these seriously: their insights can help the proposed change to succeed.
- Support your supervisors. Change places an enormous burden on supervisors who are required to ‘sell’ the new initiatives to their team, even if they personally disagree with the changes.
- A period of consolidation is often required for the change to be effective or accepted. Ensure enough time for this.
- Do evaluate the long-term effectiveness of any change by checking with employees at every level in your organisation. Use the lessons to improve future change initiatives.
- Provide change management training for all managers and supervisors so they know how to support their staff through the process of change.
