Change-induced Stress and Its Impact On Work

In the face of such dramatic change and extreme stress, including the need to find new ways of working and living, employees need flexibility and agility to continue to do their jobs. This exhaustion, change, and grief have already taken a toll.

According to research based on information gathered from more than 250,000 people, most participants showed alarming signs from mid-March to mid-May. Their anxiety risk increased by more than 21%, and their depression risk increased by more than 9%. This led to a significant increase in job burnout by more than 11% compared to 2019.

In response to this stress of change and burnout, leaders must reduce the effects of this emotional distress by providing access to resources and building cognitive skills to revitalize organizations. If employees experience burnout, the entire recovery process will slow down.

Risks of change-induced stress

Burnout is caused by going beyond the demands placed on someone and the resources available to accomplish them, which means that the best thing we can do right now is to skillfully manage those demands and try to use our abilities and energies wisely.

At the same time, change-induced stress occurs when individuals are asked to constantly change their behaviors, taking on additional and burdened responsibilities without access to other resources or relief from any of their current obligations.

Moreover, research points to the detrimental outcomes of change-induced stress, including burnout, reduced organizational commitment, and their desire to seek new employment.

The most critical question now is: How can we minimize the impact of this stress while at the same time supporting those who are already on burnout?

It is helpful for leaders to understand that some segments of the workforce will have hypothetical reactions to the pressure and stress that will make them highly susceptible to job burnout, especially during the increased risks to everyone working during the COVID-19 crisis.

In what follows, we will discuss the disparity in individuals' abilities to adapt to change and conserve energy in the face of the risk of job burnout.

Distinguishing and coping with change-induced stress

Employees who experience the stress associated with an environment where change is the only constant are at greater risk of job burnout, which can manifest as physical or emotional exhaustion, cynicism, detachment, or a sense of ineffectiveness.

Why don't all employees get burned out? The answer lies in how employees manage the demands placed on them. Flexibility enables individuals to recover from stress and regain balance rather than fall into burnout and job burnout. In other words, flexibility and speed of performance help to effectively protect against burnout.

Research shows a vast discrepancy in rates of anxiety and depression between employees with high resilience and fast performance and between those with low strength and adaptability.

• About 40 percent of people who are not resilient enough show signs of depression and moderate or severe anxiety.
• However, among highly resilient and adaptable individuals, their risk of anxiety and depression is only 2%.
• Highly resilient individuals are 28% more able to adapt to changing circumstances than their less resilient peers.
• The results indicate that 44% of individuals with low adaptability and performance are at risk of burnout, compared to 6% of individuals with high adaptability and speed of performance.

At the same time, how people think and respond to stress greatly affects their ability to adapt and respond to change. For example:

• Emotional people with high levels of empathy are at higher risk of burnout (36% are at increased risk).
• Innovators, on whom we rely moving forward in times like these, may not have the work-life balance and stress management skills they need. 25% of those critical employees are at risk of burnout.

Employees who do not have the skills to manage stress effectively are vulnerable to underperformance and fatal mistakes and are more likely to burn out. When this happens, their interaction decreases, and their performance deteriorates.

However, when we understand the thinking styles of employees who face stress during work, we gain sufficient knowledge to help protect them from burnout. There are seven main factors associated with the possibility of burnout:

1. Sleep problems.
2. Stomachache, headache, and back pain.
3. Lack of balance between work and personal life.
4. Dissatisfaction with life.
5. Poor stress management.
6. Reduced ability to control emotion.
7. Low participation in work.

By monitoring these issues among workers, employers can better predict the risk of burnout and use cognitive skills to protect those at high risk.

Just as the pandemic has accelerated technological changes in how we work and companies interact with their employees, the crisis will drive the development of mental health strategies. So, planning for the post-pandemic era will be a challenge and an opportunity for all of us to focus on employee experience and developing strategies that combine behavioral and physical health and enhance individuals' stamina.