Recruitment, Retention, Productivity, and Creativity Suffer When Employees Experience Change Fatigue

BOSTON, March 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The average organization has gone through five enterprise-wide changes in the past three years, and this constant change can have a negative impact on employees who struggle with disruption, according to a new meQuilibrium report. "Change fatigue," the complex problems caused by rapid transformation, can beleaguer workers who are not capable of handling change or see only threat instead of possibility.

"Change fatigue is more than just a buzzword," says Jan Bruce, co-founder and CEO of meQuilibrium, a human-focused technology company that helps employees improve performance and wellbeing through the science of resilience. "It's a real issue that affects the wellbeing and performance of employees. People who are armed to face uncertainty possess the skills to assess problems, the agility to find solutions, and the emotional intelligence to motivate teams."

The business impacts of the transformation economy and change fatigue are far-reaching. When organizations are not prepared for disruption, recruitment and retention are increasingly difficult, productivity is negatively impacted, creativity and innovation suffer and there is an increased risk of anger, aggression, anxiety and addiction in the workplace.

Rapid transformation creates complex problems for organizations, including these six key challenges:

1.     New technology and systems are introduced in rapid iteration 
Employees can't master one new wave of technology before the next one is introduced, requiring employees to have high levels of adaptability and resilience.

2.     The talent pool is shrinking and changing 
Tight labor markets mean pressure on recruiting and retaining talent, and equipping workers for continued success.

3.     Employee expectations are rising 
The burden on employees to accommodate the volatility of the business world is surfacing as acute stress and mental and emotional challenges.

4.     Stress and mental health problems are increasing
Mental and emotional health have moved increasingly into the domain of employer concern over the past decade. Supporting employees' health extends beyond physical health and traditional medical benefits.

5.     The need for upskilling is accelerating
The soft skills workers need in the new world of work include the ability to manage stress and emotion, roll with change, and rebound from adversity.

6.     Mergers and acquisitions bring additional disruption
Employees must be equipped with the skills to manage stress and conflict, use emotional intelligence and empathy, and rebound quickly from the disruption brought on by mergers and acquisitions.

Why do some organizations surf the waves of change while their competitors drown during transformation? According to meQuilibrium, there are nine reasons resilient companies become transformation masters:

• They view change as opportunity
• They invest in employee wellbeing
• They see failure as a learning opportunity and rebound with resilience
• They nurture innovative thinkers skillfully
• They don't cling to the past in fear
• They value curiosity and growth mindset
• They foster teamwork and create psychological safety
• They value diversity of thought and experience
• They don't settle for narrow fixes

"Organizations which are able to master change and take advantage of it are investing in training employees to improve required competencies — curiosity, fearlessness, creativity, resilience, open-mindedness, cognitive and emotional awareness — rather than allowing them to be paralyzed by change," explains Bruce. "We must equip teams for success by training them to work more effectively with their minds and emotions. The organizations with the most people who can switch gears from threatened to productive will succeed."

To download the free whitepaper, visit meQuilibrium.

Media contact:
Beth Brody, BrodyPR
[email protected]
908-295-0600 

SOURCE meQuilibrium

Related Links

https://www.mequilibrium.com