Why Agency Helps Employees Cope With Change

"Change is frequently destabilizing to employees and can result in low morale and reduced productivity. Leaders must give their employees the time and support they need to process their responses to a disruption to how they are accustomed to working. Focusing on ways to help employees gain a sense of control can help them better manage their emotions and more readily accept, and contribute to, new initiatives."

"Workplace developments like hybrid working and artificial intelligence have brought a cascade of sometimes destabilizing changes that many people have struggled to keep up with. Such changes can leave employees feeling as if the rug has been pulled out from under them. How can leaders stop change from undermining workers' morale and productivity, and help their people regain a sense of control?"

"A good place for leaders to start is to question whether they are pursuing the right objective. A leader who was involved in planning a particular change, for example, will have had time to come to terms with it well ahead of most employees. Once the change has been widely announced, their objective might be for team members to accept it as easily as they did (overlooking their own head start) and quickly return to their usual levels of productivity."

Organizational change often destabilizes employees, lowering morale and productivity. Leaders who planned changes have time to adapt and may expect similar quick acceptance from team members. Assuming everyone is already on the same page can lead to minimal communication that overlooks employees' underlying concerns. Effective leadership shifts the aim toward helping employees reclaim control by granting time, support, and personal autonomy. Open, empathetic communication that acknowledges emotional responses shortens adjustment periods and speeds return to productivity. Providing choice and control helps employees better manage emotions and contribute constructively to new initiatives.

Read at MIT Sloan Management Review