Think your workers are disengaged? It could be change fatigue

“Even burnout can be recovered from in a matter of years,” Drasin said. “With fatigue, the data’s still obviously being developed, but we’re seeing it as a multi-year challenge.”

Early on, Drasin said, the assumption was that the pandemic was the cause of the fatigue; however, it has persisted.

“It’s been several years and we’re not seeing people recover,” he added.

The pressure coming from outside the office

Drasin, whose background is in change psychology, offered an analogy for how fatigue builds.

“I’ve always described it a little bit like our ability to adapt is like a battery,” he said. “When [our adaptive systems] get overwhelmed with stimuli, our battery drains really low. And if we’re not given enough time to recover from it, it’s like overworking your muscles and you tear a muscle.”