Trust and cohesion: managing change fatigue

September 2025  |  COVER STORY | LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT

Financier Worldwide Magazine

September 2025 Issue

In today’s fast-paced business environment, change is constant – and often exhausting. Organisations face unrelenting pressure to adapt to new technologies, shifting markets, regulatory demands and evolving workforce expectations. While transformation is essential for survival, it frequently comes at a cost: employee fatigue, stress and disengagement.

Gartner reports that large organisations now undergo an average of 10 major changes each year. Yet despite this frequency, most change efforts fall short. Studies show that 60 to 70 percent of transformation initiatives fail, with only a third achieving their intended outcomes. The reasons are often human – poor communication, lack of support and unclear direction leave employees feeling overwhelmed and sceptical.

KPMG notes that nearly 80 percent of organisations should revise their business strategies every two to five years to remain competitive. Market pressures, digital disruption and shifting customer expectations are key drivers. The rapid rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning is accelerating this further, placing even greater demands on employees to adapt quickly.

Root causes of change fatigue

Change fatigue arises when employees feel overwhelmed by the pace and volume of transformation. It can manifest as declining motivation, resistance to new initiatives, burnout, absenteeism or disengagement. In more severe cases, it may lead to illness or a desire to leave the organisation altogether.

Several factors contribute to this fatigue. Poor communication is a major one – when employees are unclear about what is changing, why it matters or how it affects them, confusion and frustration grow. A lack of visible benefits or clear objectives can lead to cynicism. Without adequate training, resources or coaching, employees may feel unsupported and uncertain in their roles.

Change overload is another key issue. When multiple initiatives are introduced in rapid succession, employees often struggle to adjust before the next wave begins. In organisations with low change maturity, poor planning, shifting priorities and weak leadership can further erode trust and engagement.

Leadership plays a critical role. When change is not managed effectively from the top, employees may lose confidence in their leaders and disengage from the process. Recognising and addressing change fatigue is not a sign of weakness – it is a strategic necessity. By listening to employees, pacing change thoughtfully and investing in the right support systems, organisations can build resilience and deliver transformation that lasts.

From burnout to breakthrough: turning fatigue into forward momentum

There are several strategies companies can pursue to address change fatigue. These include assessing the organisation’s maturity and readiness for change, aligning goals across workstreams, and maintaining clear and consistent communication. It is also essential to anticipate transformation fatigue, invest in strong change management practices, incorporate mitigation strategies into change plans, foster a positive workplace culture, build organisational resilience, and use meaningful metrics to measure the success of change initiatives.

Successfully navigating organisational change requires more than just a well-intentioned plan – it demands a structured, strategic approach from the outset. Companies should take foundational steps to ensure lasting impact. “To successfully implement change, companies should start with a discovery phase to understand the current landscape and readiness for change,” emphasises Ben Collins, a partner at Oliver Wight EAME. “Leadership alignment is crucial and involves assessing capabilities, defining a vision and building a business case rooted in measurable value. Effective leaders use storytelling to galvanise the organisation behind the change.”

Assessing workforce readiness is a critical part of this process. “Workforce readiness begins with a blended discovery and education phase to assess current capabilities and awareness,” continues Mr Collins. “Leaders must align on what ‘good’ looks like and identify gaps in knowledge, skills and mindset. Readiness also includes evaluating psychological and cultural factors and organisational and personal resilience that may hinder adoption. To ensure buy-in, companies need a compelling ‘case for change’ story that answers ‘why?’ and ‘what is in it for me?’ for each stakeholder group,” he continues. “Early engagement of influencers and change agents is critical. Tailored communication and interactive workshops help build desire and understanding, while involving employees in the design process ownership reduces resistance.”

With the overwhelming number of critical change initiatives and the added pressures of geopolitical, technological and economic disruptions, it is crucial for executives to carefully prioritise and sequence efforts. This helps organisations avoid being overwhelmed and ensures they can focus their limited mental and operational capacity effectively.

Leading with empathy, clarity and purpose

Change can be unsettling, but it is also where growth happens. When leaders communicate purpose and provide the right support, teams are more likely to engage and adapt. “Disruption is an inherent part of the process, but if you are clear on why you are doing it, people will ride it with you,” observes Ross Robinson, director of design and transformation at Optima Partners. “The key is to treat change like an investment – frontload support, simplify adoption and do not overload teams with parallel asks.” He adds that to truly gauge success, companies should move beyond tracking project milestones and focus instead on tangible business outcomes, such as whether decisions are improving, delivery is accelerating, or more value is being extracted from data and content.

Balancing productivity with disruption requires a carefully considered plan that includes proper sequencing, prioritisation and feedback mechanisms. “During the transition, coaching and support are essential to build capability and confidence,” suggests Mr Collins. “Success should be measured not just by immediate key performance indicators but by long-term outcomes such as sustained adoption, improved performance metrics and cultural alignment. Regular assessments, feedback loops and value realisation checkpoints ensure that the change delivers on its promise and evolves with the organisation’s needs.”

With this in mind, it is vital that companies take deliberate steps to maintain employee morale during periods of significant change. “Morale drops when people feel change is happening to them, not with them,” warns Mr Robinson. “To protect morale, leaders must lead with empathy and clarity – no empty slogans, no sugar-coating. Recognise the toll of sustained change and create space for rest and reflection. Not everything needs to move at pace, all the time. Invest in micro-wins that remind people of their progress. And do not just talk about resilience – design it in. Give teams influence over how work gets done, permission to adapt processes, and a sense of control in the chaos. Autonomy, recognition and a clear purpose beat perks every time. A clear and compelling, people-first narrative is key.”

Many organisations unintentionally sabotage their own change efforts by overloading teams and failing to set clear boundaries. But companies can avoid this trap. “Change fatigue is a self-harm, self-inflicted problem in organisations,” says Leandro Herrero, chief organizational architect and founder of The Chalfont Project. “For any change, start by declaring what will and will not change. Ask then what other corporate initiatives are going to compete for airtime – and drop half of them. Explain the trade-off clearly and explicitly. Drop the word ‘transition’, which implies a fixed destination. Test frequently and randomly with small groups of people how they are feeling, the sense of progress and degree of confidence.” Dr Herrero advocates for leaders to take a ‘backstage’ role during change and transition processes, which enables employees from all functions and hierarchical levels to take ownership.

Thriving through change requires more than strategy; it demands a culture where people feel safe, supported and heard. “Authentic leadership is the antidote to change fatigue,” stresses Mr Robinson. “It is about showing vulnerability, modelling adaptability and protecting teams from being overwhelmed. Companies that thrive through transformation are those that prioritise psychological safety, where feedback flows freely and pressure does not mean panic. Talk about the importance of ‘pacing the change’, which means sequencing efforts, prioritising ruthlessly and resisting the temptation to do everything at once. Sustainable change is not a sprint; it is a strategic tempo, with a clear and compelling direction of travel, understood by all levels of the organisation.”

In addition, leaders must demonstrate empathy, transparency and inclusivity. “Leaders must acknowledge the emotional toll of change and create psychological safety through honest communication,” says Mr Collins. “Measuring employee engagement is a leading indicator of the change initiative’s success.” This can be observed through how quickly and widely new systems, processes or behaviours are adopted, as well as the level of resistance encountered – often revealed through surveys or impact assessments. Equally important is understanding how satisfied key stakeholders, such as customers or partners, are with the changes, which can be gauged through their feedback and satisfaction scores. “Leaders who are honest about mistakes made along the change journey will have a greater success rate than those who ignore or pass on the blame. Listening to the organisation throughout the change is crucial for success,” he adds.

Change that sticks

For Dr Herrero, there is no real change without behavioural change. This shift in behaviour does not occur as a by-product of system upgrades or technology implementation. “A suitable ‘behavioural DNA’ needs to pre-exist, to sustain those changes,” he points out. For example, implementing a new technology that relies on strong collaboration will likely fail in an organisation that lacks a collaborative culture – regardless of how advanced the technology is. The key question becomes: what behaviours, whether existing or new, are essential to support and sustain the change? To ensure successful implementation and long-term impact, a behavioural change programme must be developed and run in parallel with the transformation effort, he adds.

At the heart of every successful digital transformation is a simple truth: technology only delivers value when people embrace it. The real challenge is not the tools – it is the adoption.

“It all comes back to people,” states Mr Robinson. “Organisations should start with the ‘why,’ clearly tying new technologies to outcomes that matter to people and their day jobs: faster decisions, reduced admin, smarter engagement. Secondly, think beyond the rollout. Technology adoption is not a one-off, it is a muscle and mindset you build. That means investing in champions, embedding habits through workflow design, and measuring actual business usage, not just completion stats. Introducing new tech is easy; making it land is where the real work begins and where 80 percent of the value is unlocked.”

Many organisations talk about culture change, but few define the specific behaviours that make it real. Dr Herrero challenges leaders to move beyond buzzwords and focus on what people actually do. What are the specific behaviours, or ‘inputs’, the company needs to see, individually and collectively, so they lead to predefined outputs? “Most traditional answers to this question provide a fertile ground for paying lip service to a concept,” he says. “A culture in which people are not encouraged to ask questions will never be a ‘culture of learning’. A culture in which people do not ask themselves or their teams whether they can do something better, differently or faster, will never be truly innovative, no matter how many ‘innovation departments’ the company has.”

Embedding learning, communication and behavioural change

Effective transformation hinges on how well people learn and apply new skills. “Cascade education, where organisational change agents deliver education to the rest of the organisation, ensures knowledge is transferred and contextualised for different roles,” explains Mr Robinson. “Learning must be ongoing, interactive and tailored to individual needs and styles. We are increasingly seeing democratised, bite-sized learning as the preferred method of delivery.”

But there is an important consideration here: learning is most effective when it happens at the moment of need. To make this work, content must be easily accessible, highly relevant and engaging. Teams and individuals also require a safe environment to practice new skills, supported by experienced coaches. Building capability is a gradual process, adds Mr Robinson, and to counteract the natural decline in retention – known as the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve – ongoing reinforcement through targeted interventions and coaching is essential for lasting organisational change.

In times of change, clear and purposeful communication becomes a leadership superpower. The focus should be on delivering messages that are meaningful and relevant, rather than simply increasing the volume of information. “During change, people want straight answers,” affirms Mr Robinson. “Tell it to them straight – do not just create more noise. Messages should be tailored to the audience: senior leaders need clarity on progress and risk, while frontline teams want to understand how their roles will change, what it means for their day-to-day work and what support they will receive. The most trusted leaders we see in client environments are not those with the slickest decks – they are the ones who listen and act, segmenting their communications for specific people, needs and jobs to be done.”

Ultimately when organisations align change efforts with how people are wired to think and act, they create the conditions for long-term success. “At the centre of successfully sustaining change is a broader understanding of our own drivers and the human brain’s need to make things easy and to reward extra effort,” highlights Mr Collins. “Successful companies help employees adapt to new ways of operating and listen to them throughout the change. They reinforce new behaviours with reward and recognition initiatives, focus groups and integrating changes into procedures, playbooks, job descriptions and new employee inductions.”

Embracing the journey

The reality is that change is complex, continuous and often demanding for everyone involved. However, it does not have to be overwhelming. With effective communication and genuine understanding, companies can support their employees in embracing the opportunities that change presents while managing the challenges of ongoing disruption.

© Financier Worldwide

BY

Richard Summerfield