Change fatigue as a challenge for change management / corporate governance
Change management in companies is no longer an isolated discipline. It is contextualized in the context of social developments and individual experiences with change. But what happens when people no longer have the strength to constantly adapt? We shed light on the concept of change fatigue and discuss how companies need to adapt their change management to remain effective and sustainable.
The theory of “change fatigue” and its social context
In their book Triggerpunkte (2023), Linus Westhäuser, Steffen Mau and Thomas Lux describe a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly important in the current debate on social, economic and political transformations: change fatigue.
Their analysis: social groups are increasingly exhausted by the multitude and speed of transformations. They no longer experience the permanent questioning of previous norms, values and structures as a development, but as a draining imposition. This applies not only to debates about gender roles or diversity, but also to deeper questions of social security, economic stability and technological upheaval.
This mechanism takes effect on several levels: People who constantly have to adapt to new realities in their daily lives, who experience the disappearance of established facts, sometimes react with resistance or resignation. This social change fatigue is reflected in polarization, reform fatigue and increasing skepticism towards “those at the top”.
The bridge to the corporate context: When change is no longer managed
This phenomenon also affects change processes in companies, because companies are not isolated spaces. The people who are supposed to implement and support change projects are the same people who are already challenged by constant change outside of the organization. This means that people who are already tired of change in their private lives, who already feel that they can no longer keep pace with upheavals in the political and social context, will not suddenly become enthusiastic change agents within the organization.
And yet, the current framing of change management is precisely designed for this: change as something “new”, as “disruption” that costs energy, creates resistance and must be overcome through “good management”. But what if the resistance is not so much a conscious rejection as a simple exhaustion? What if people are no longer opposed to change, but simply no longer have the capacity to actively engage?
A new framing for change management
If change fatigue is a real challenge, change management must respond to it. And we want to make it very clear: we are not just talking about relabeling what already exists! It is about a changed attitude towards and approach to change. And about a process design that automatically ensures that the much-discussed “dealing with resistance” does not become an issue at all because it does not exist. (Please also read our blog article “Dealing with resistance”)
Three central adjustments could be:
- A new framing of change: Many employees experience change as constant stress because change is presented as an uninterrupted series of crises. Instead of staging change as a strenuous process that comes “on top”, runs “out of turn”, fights resistance and costs energy, a new framing could be established: Change – as a gradual evolution – is part of the normal (leadership) routine, something that is integrated into existing routines instead of breaking them. Instead of “demanding change”, “change” and “stabilization” could be understood and handled as the two self-evident sides of our daily business. As a natural part of every job, every process. Inherent. Not “change” but (further) development.
- Taking real-life experiences seriously: Companies need to be more aware that their employees do not operate in a vacuum. The change fatigue they experience outside the company has a major impact on their motivation, openness and energy for internal change processes. A change management that takes this into account would not simply brush over this exhaustion, but would deal more consciously with change dynamics, plan breaks and spaces for reflection, and design change as an adaptive, breathing process. Nothing that is prescribed “from up there” but that is jointly identified and approached as that which “makes sense”.
- “Micro Wins instead of Change Monsters” – breaking down change into smaller, tangible successes
- Change fatigue often arises because employees do not have a direct sense of achievement – change processes are too big, too far away or take too long. We can counter this by designing change in such a way that we can see, feel and influence rapid, tangible progress!
- How? Here are some initial ideas:
- ... Break down big transformations into micro wins – a visible success that can be tangibly experienced every week or month. And that is made CONSCIOUS. You don't have to celebrate every little step. But you have to appreciate it!...
- Actively involve employees in the process by allowing them to work on small but effective changes.
- ... Use storytelling: Instead of just KPI dashboards, companies use personal stories about the positive effects of change – preferably with small video snippets recorded on your own cell phone.
- 💡 Example: A company that wants to establish a new feedback culture can start with mini-experiments instead of a big, elusive “cultural transformation”: Each manager gives short, positive feedback weekly for two months. Employees quickly notice a difference and are more open to further cultural change.
Implications for corporate culture
This new approach to change management could also have an impact on corporate culture. Instead of propagating a culture of constant agility and “readiness to change”, it would be more effective to create an environment in which stability and change are not contradictory.
Companies could establish new forms of “development dialog” in which employees are not only informed and involved, but also supported in their individual resilience to change. In other words, “back school” instead of “self-optimization in the gym”.
Change should not be thought of as a purely methodical phenomenon that needs to be “managed efficiently”, but as a process that integrates itself into the overarching transformation of society and the world of work. And it should take people into account to the same extent as economic necessities. If you want to make change management sustainable, you have to think of change in companies and change in society together. In the future, companies and authorities in Germany will have to adapt to much greater demands as a result of profound changes. And it seems to be extremely important to also use every form of recovery phase to maintain our employees' willingness and ability to change.
Call4Action:
These initial thoughts set the scene for a discussion that we believe is urgently needed. We welcome any suggestions, perspectives and examples of how companies are already dealing with change fatigue today!
