1 in 3 US employees say workplace changes aren’t worth the effort, report finds

Although 63% of U.S. workers say they experienced workplace change during the past year, 34% said the changes weren’t worth the organizational effort, according to an Oct. 30 report from Eagle Hill Consulting.

While employees acknowledged the positive effects of change, such as increased efficiency and improved focus on organizational goals, only 25% said their organization effectively manages change across the workforce.

“Organizations are introducing important changes but failing to bring employees along on the journey,” Melissa Jezior, president and CEO of Eagle Hill Consulting, said in a statement.

“The key to successful change is not just what you change but how you change,” Jezior added. “When employees experience increased workload and stress without adequate support during change, that ultimately impacts the effectiveness of change efforts.”

In a time of immense change, employees say they can’t absorb all of the shifts that their leaders expect them to make, according to a report from The Grossman Group. Without visible leadership and effective communication, organizations are more likely to fail, the report found.

And although most HR leaders say they’re prepared for change, they also acknowledge issues with past change efforts, particularly with gaps in measurement, communication and alignment, according to a report from The Conference Board. Intentional, inclusive strategies can improve the odds of successful change adoption, a human capital researcher said.

In the Eagle Hill survey of 1,448 U.S. workers, 45% said organizational change increased their workload and 43% reported higher stress levels. In addition, 62% said their manager didn’t reduce their work to accommodate time for learning or adjusting to changes. 

Notably, only 24% of workers said change was executed in a way that made it easy to embrace at their organization.

In particular, employees were more likely to rate change positively for new product launches, technology shifts and artificial intelligence initiatives. In contrast, fewer employees reported improvement with changes such as return-to-office mandates.

Most of all, employees said they wanted to feel heard when deciding what to change and how to roll it out, particularly for their team. Only 33% said their voice matters in change initiatives. 

To improve organizational change management, Eagle Hill recommended implementing phased rollouts, lightening workloads during times of heavy change, building in buffers to ease transitions, connecting changes to business outcomes and focusing on team leaders to influence positive change.