Change Fatigue if Coming to an Organization Near You!

Most people aren’t eager to have change injected into their lives. They can adapt to smaller changes without much discomfort. In the workplace a change that causes significant disruption to an established routine can be harmful to processes and productivity as well as people. The same is true for the effect of multiple, smaller changes.

It has long been known that stress is caused by planned or unplanned changes in our personal environment (home, society or workplace).The persistent accumulation of this stress often leads to a feeling of fatigue that can affect people mentally, physically or in both ways.

This is Change Fatigue.

Change Fatigue is a condition that has been increasingly studied over the past several decades. There are thousands of volumes, presentations and dissertations on the subject. And now more people are acknowledging that this is a reality in the workplace that must be managed and mitigated.

So how do you know if your organization is being affected by this condition? Here is a high-level view of what you should look for.

In order to diagnose the situation, you need to first understand that there is a difference between Change Fatigue and Change Resistance. Although they can overlap, they present in different ways. Change Fatigue is characterized by passivity – a resignation that the “inevitable” will occur. (This should not be confused with passive resistance since there is rarely any resistance associated with Change Fatigue).

Unfortunately, the absence of expressed discontent is less obvious to managers and leaders. It is often interpreted as silent support for the change. And this silence can be welcomed by managers since they feel it limits the need for change management efforts.

With Change Fatigue the feeling of being powerless to affect one’s environment creates a sense of ambivalence. The success of instituting a change is threatened as the ambivalence turns to apathy. This lack of motivation not only hinders the efforts to make the change happen, but also directly impacts all of the other routine activities for which the staff is responsible.

Change Resistance is characterized by actions that clearly demonstrate a dislike of the change. These actions are noticeable to the other staff members, leaders and managers alike. They usually begin in a non-verbal manner like eyerolling during a presentation or meeting; the shaking of a head to show disapproval of a statement or comment; and whispers or exchanged “knowing” looks. These actions can be disruptive and are clear indicators of a growing problem that should be quickly addressed. Unfortunately, many managers would prefer to avoid a possible confrontation and “power through” rather than address the issue head on.

If left unchecked the resistance to change can begin to manifest in the form of disruptive behaviors such as: actively criticizing the way change is being implemented to anyone who will listen; making opinion based negative statements that are presented as facts; posing questions in meetings that aren’t designed to get answers but are intended to be argumentative; or through direct confrontation. These negative actions will only serve to increase the fatigue others in the group may be feeling and further erode the probability of a positive outcome.

So how do we correct these conditions? The best way is to avoid them altogether, and how that can be done will be discussed next.