Helping employees to manage change

Consider the impact of change

Any change in an organization or to an employee's role has the potential to cause stress. The stress can be overwhelming when an employee is also dealing with mental health issues.

In many organizations, constant change is the norm. If not handled well, this can have a negative impact on some employees. Applying a psychological health and safety lens to change management is a worthwhile investment to support employee performance, loyalty, and buy-in for the changes.

These approaches can be the difference between a very difficult change and a manageable adjustment.

Strategies to support all employees during change

• Reflect on how you’re feeling about the change. If leaders don’t pause to consider how they’re feeling about changes, they may be unprepared to deal with employee resistance. Consider if and why you might be feeling anxious, excited, uncertain, passionate, or frustrated. Reflecting on the source of your reaction to the change makes it easier to be honest and open with your employees about any concerns they may have.
  • Adapted from “How to Get Your Team on Board with a Major Change,” by Deborah Rowland, Nicole Brauckmann, and Michael Thorley. 
    
• Set the expectation of ongoing change with all employees. Let them know that ongoing improvement at work is expected. This can include changes in technology, tasks, equipment, processes, or their own skills and abilities. Share this expectation of continual change during orientation, in all training, and as part of regular conversation between management and employees.
• Provide certainty wherever possible. Change can create feelings of uncertainty about what’s coming next. Wherever possible, provide as much certainty as you can. For example, if there has been turnover among your peers, you may want to assure your employees by saying “I want you all to know that I’m not going anywhere. I believe in this team and I’m here for you,” if that is true.
  • Adapted from “How to Motivate Your Team When People Keep Quitting,” by Rebecca Zucker and Dina Smith
    
• Celebrate or recognize the good work that was done under the old system. This step is often missed in change management. To "sell" the change, employers will sometimes dismiss or ignore any successes of the past. This may leave long-standing employees feeling unappreciated or discouraged. Recognizing how they were able to do so much under the old system is more likely to leave them open to change.
• For every change, create an honest, positive, accessible and compelling vision of the intended outcome. Help employees see a picture of what work and, if appropriate, the world, will look like when the change is completed. There are  different parts of the brain used for words and images. Helping employees imagine themselves thriving in this vision can increase understanding and acceptance. It can also help decrease the apprehension that comes from uncertainty.
• Be specific about why and how the change will happen. Share as many details as possible about the intended timeline and steps of the change. State known challenges and concerns before the employees do. This can help show you understand their reality and are working to make it as positive as possible.
• Openly discuss potential pros and cons of the proposed changes. When leaders understand the fears or concerns shared by employees and take steps to address them or make resources available, employees are more likely to feel heard and part of the change process. Do not pretend challenges won’t exist or try to minimize them. If possible, look for solutions with the employees who will be affected.
• Link the change to previous, similar, positive changes. Reminding employees “You’ve done this before and you were successful,” can help reduce anxiety in times of change.
• Break the change up into small steps. If possible, give time for each step to be completed and adjust as necessary.
• Repeat, repeat, repeat. It can be helpful to allow employees the opportunity to try out the change several times so that it becomes part of the day-to-day routine. Try this when changes involve new tasks, processes, or technology. 
  • Adapted in part from the work of Dr. Carlos Davidovich.

Accommodation during times of change

For employees who either currently experience mental or physical health challenges or have in the past, spend some extra time making sure they have what they need to successfully continue their work throughout the changes that are planned.

• Explain clearly what the employee's new or modified responsibilities will be. Ask the employee to share their understanding of your explanation.  This makes sure it has been well explained and understood.
• Listen carefully to the employee's concerns about the change. Provide detailed responses to the concerns, if you are not able to address them completely.
• Help the employee manage fear. Understand that some people do not like change, especially when it is not their choice. For people who may be experiencing a mental health issue, this can include severe worry or fear about their future. Discuss these fears and offer realistic reassurance to the employee. Consider approaches that could address these fears such as lowering expectations, demands, or skills training for a period of time.
• Consider the duty to accommodate. Times of change may mean the need to review existing accommodation plans. If no accommodation plan exists, this may also be the appropriate time to offer accommodation to employees with mental health issues, even if they had not wanted such help before. See Accommodation Strategies for ideas.
• Share what the employee does well and has previously accomplished. Highlight how these strengths will help in the adjustment to the new responsibilities. Let the employee know that they are valued by the organization.
• Adjust or set new performance goals once you have addressed the employee's concerns. Ask the employee how they can help meet the goals of the new organizational structure or job requirements. This involvement can help employees feel that they are, to a certain extent, in control of their experience of the changes and their future at work.

Addressing job insecurity

Changes that lead to feelings of insecurity about work can be stressful for employees.

The World Health Organization and other researchers have proposed organizational and managerial strategies to address layoffs and financial uncertainty. Not only can labour market insecurity cause increased stress for some workers, it can be especially difficult for those employees with mental health issues such as depression or anxiety. Age can also make a difference. According to some research, workers earn a significant amount of the wealth that will finance their retirement in the 10 years preceding their retirement. For these workers, the concerns around job loss may be more life altering. (Gallo, Bradley, Siegel & Kasl, 2000).

Organizational strategies

The following outlines strategies identified by some researchers in this field that may be useful to addressing employment insecurity among employees with and without mental health issues. Organizations may wish to consider some or all of the following measures:

• Watch and review labour market trends to be aware of changes and potential impact. Share this information where appropriate with employees through a posting or memo system.
• Use temporary employees for short-term demand to increase security of existing staff.
• Retrain existing staff with the goal of developing enhancing skills in preparation for shortages and shifts in employment roles
• Develop a layoff communication strategy and policy . Share this policy with all staff.
• Give as much advance notice to affected staff as possible

Engage in discussions with unions and employee representatives, if applicable, about the selection of affected individuals, decision criteria for layoffs, compensation levels, and position shifting for remaining employees.

Provide placement counseling, information about other job opportunities in the community as well as information about how to get financial help.

Provide support for remaining employees to manage potential ongoing anxiety for future layoffs through work health programs. For example, Employee Assistance Programs, counseling services, or links to community support services.

Communicate about the potential for future layoffs, where applicable, to maintain a sense of trust.

Work with unions and employee representatives where appropriate, to increase the sense of job security in the post-layoff period. Communicate consistent messages to employees.

Increase investments in work health programs, if applicable, for employees to seek support for grieving the loss of colleagues and establishing a sense of balance and security once again.

Be sure to acknowledge the contribution that those who were laid off made to the organization.

Invite remaining employees to provide feedback on the layoff process, and respond with detail about how the feedback will be used.

Termination

During times of change, there may also be some job losses. This could be due to restructuring, redundancies, or the need for new skills to support an organization's changing vision.

Termination of an employee, co-worker, and potentially a friend is never easy for anyone at work and steps should be taken to protect the psychological safety of the employee, the manager, and co-workers.

Read more in Termination and layoff planning.

Additional resources

Team activity — React to change. This team-building activity can help develop awareness of how we react to change. 

See the article Labour market changes and job insecurity: a challenge for social welfare and health promotion for more information.