Good work design - Managing change at work

Key wellness & self-care strategies for managing workplace change

• Acknowledge emotional impact

  • Encourage team members to share feelings about the changes.
  • Recognize and validate emotions (not just productivity concerns).
  • Be patient, since change often takes time to process.

• Provide practical and emotional support

  • Offer extra practical support to clarify work expectations and processes.
  • Ensure people know what support services exist and how to access them.

Productivity & leadership strategies (for successful change)

• Communication is the #1 strategy

  • Have early and regular conversations with your team.
  • Keep people informed about what’s happening.
  • When no changes are occurring, still update the team so uncertainty doesn’t grow.
  • Create space for people to voice concerns and views.
  • Listen, then respond to concerns.
  • Be fair and equitable, and explain the reasons behind decisions.
  • Check back later to confirm concerns were addressed.

• Involve workers to reduce anxiety and increase agency

  • Involve team members in the change process to ease feelings of lack of control.
  • Discuss what the change means specifically for them.
  • Provide opportunities for people to influence how the team adapts.
  • Involve them in redesigning tasks, roles, and responsibilities.

• Clarify roles, priorities, and deadlines

  • Confirm team members know:
    • What they need to do
    • How to do it
    • When it needs to be done
  • Watch for uncertainty about responsibilities and for conflicts between role demands or between team members.

Presenters/Sources

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