Change Fatigue = Low Productivity and Engagement
Change saturation in the workplace is something I’m seeing in every organization and industry I’m working with right now. There is so much change coming at employees, at a velocity unlike anything we have seen since the early days of the pandemic.
Darryl Conner first coined the term “saturated sponges” in the 90s to describe what happens when we continuously throw water (i.e. change) at our employees.
They become saturated, much like the well-used sponge after the dinner dishes are done, and there is nowhere for additional water to go or be absorbed.
The result? Dropped balls, missed deadlines, lack of productivity, and very low engagement. People are just exhausted.
Helping Saturated Sponges
As leaders, we have the responsibility to acknowledge, understand, and work to address this issue with our teams.
WHAT WE’RE FACING
Changes impacting employees before they even arrive at work each day include:
- Global conflict
- Economic uncertainty
- Constant tariff-related changes
- Inflation
- 24/7 news cycle
- Normal family and personal stressors
On top of that, our organizations are swimming in similar changes and pivoting to stay afloat with new policies, new campaigns, price increases, price reductions, new departments, staff reductions, etc.
WHERE TO START
Helping saturated employees is a TOUGH challenge. I don’t begin to have all the answers, but I do have suggestions on where to start.
1. Understand and acknowledge that this is going on. It’s not you as a leader. It’s not a particular employee, and it isn’t just your company.
2. Have a conversation with your team to acknowledge this and ask: What can we do to help dry out our sponges as much as possible, given the current state of things? What can we do to make sure we are ready for as much change as we can absorb from the organization … and how do we pace ourselves? What do we need from our leadership, such as clearer communication about the change, the timeline, etc.? When and how can we push back when we simply can’t absorb any more change this week/month/quarter?
3. As a leader, know that you aren’t alone – this is happening across organizations and industries. Ask for help from your leaders to take care of your own change saturation. And ask your team members how you can help them.
