Change fatigue. When people are exhausted, disengaged, and over it. When apathy and frustration rule. Sound familiar?
Change fatigue is now one of the top five barriers to success in 2025, according to the latest Gallagher research.
Some compelling stats:
- 71% of employees, including 86% of 16–24-year-olds, feel overwhelmed by the amount of change at work (Capterra, 2022)
- 44% feel burned out at work (SHRM, 2024)
- Employee willingness to support change initiatives dropped from 74% in 2016 to 38% in 2022 (Gartner, 2022)
So, what exactly is change fatigue? What causes it? And how do you lead a successful change in a change-fatigued environment – without making it worse?
What change fatigue looks like
Change fatigue isn’t just a feeling. It shows up in how people behave and how work gets done. Here’s what to look for:
- Engagement drops. People stop showing up – or they show up but barely contribute.
- Work effort slows. Overwhelmed, people shift into survival mode and do the bare minimum. Outcomes take a hit.
- Collaboration weakens. Teams retreat into silos and focus only on their own tasks.
- Creativity dries up. Energy and ideas go missing.
- Scepticism rises. New initiatives are met with “This won’t last”. People find ways around changes or ignore them.
- Absenteeism and burnout. Sick leave and OH&S reports climb. People leave.
If this sounds familiar, your people aren’t resisting change. They’re just exhausted by it.
Why change fatigue happens
It isn’t just the number of changes. As leadership author Ashley Goodall puts it, “it’s the agglomeration of all of the changes”.
We’ve lived through lockdowns, pivots, remote work, economic uncertainty, climate change events, global political shifts, and the rise of AI. Organisations are adapting to these shifts and rolling out waves of change.
But at the same time, people’s expectations and capacity for change has shifted. Many are simply tired.
Against this backdrop, there are some specific causes of change fatigue:
- Disconnected. Changes that roll out without coordination.
- Too much, too fast. No time to breathe before the next wave hits.
- No clear priorities. Everything’s urgent, so nothing gets focus.
- Constant pivoting. People invest effort, then the goalposts shift (again).
- Poor follow-through. ‘Important’ changes fade away.
- Leaders not aligned or visible. Mixed or missing messages leave people confused.
- Top-down decisions. People affected by change have little input or say.
- Poor change management. People are left to figure it out.
- Poor communication. Not clear what’s happening, what’s expected, and why it matters.
Change fatigue sets in when these pile up. People can handle change – but only to a point.
The Human Function Curve (Dr Peter Nixon, 1979, adaptation) shows that the right amount of pressure can boost performance. But push too hard for too long? Performance drops. Fatigue kicks in. Burnout follows.
That’s when even necessary change starts to backfire.
The cost of change fatigue
Chronic change fatigue doesn’t just undermine your projects – it chips away at your culture. Expect to see:
- Falling morale and trust
- Higher turnover
- Decreased productivity
- More failed initiatives.
I’ll share an example of a change that was pushed through in a change fatigued-environment.
A government agency was rolling out a new finance system, which promised efficiency and accuracy.
But the organisation had already seen three years of restructures, leadership churn, changing strategies, new systems, and shifting ways of working. Each change arrived with urgency, but little context or coordination. Some fizzled out mid-stream.
For the customer service team, the timing for the new finance system couldn’t have been worse. They were short-staffed, overloaded, and weary. The project team pushed forward with their own tight deadlines, seemingly unaware of the broader environment.
A lack of visible leadership left the team feeling isolated and unsupported. They struggled to see the benefits and couldn’t engage with it in the way they needed to.
It was a similar story across other teams.
When the system went live, information and training sessions were poorly attended, mounting complaints overwhelmed the finance team, and OH&S reports increased. The project didn’t deliver the promised benefits.
The system itself wasn’t the problem. The change failed because people didn’t have the bandwidth to make it work. And because the sponsor and project team failed to consider the change-fatigued environment.
Worse still? It eroded energy, morale, and trust, deepened the change fatigue, and contributed to a ‘culture of distrust’.
How to lead change without exhausting your organisation
So here you are, leading your change, in a change-fatigued environment. You want it to succeed, and you also don’t want to add to the change fatigue problem.
I encourage you to do three things:
- Challenge your change
- Align with the bigger picture
- Lead and manage your change well.
Let’s walk through these.
1. Challenge your change
This might be controversial, but do you really need to do this? Do you need to do it now?
There might be significant benefits, but if the change can wait, your people might just thank you for it. To help with this decision, weigh up:
- Is the case for change strong? Are the drivers and benefits compelling? Does the business case actually stack up?
- What are your people saying? Talk to some trusted voices. Share the case for change and ask for honest feedback. Listen.
- What else is happening? Talk to other leaders. Where is the organisation’s energy and attention? Is the organisation already at capacity?
- What can stop? Is there another initiative that could pause or be dropped to make space for this change?
- What are the risks? Of proceeding, deferring, or not doing at all?
If you do decide to defer or not proceed – say so. Be transparent. That honesty builds trust. But be clear it’s a considered choice, not poor follow-through.
2. Align with the bigger picture
If the change is a must, the next step is to make sure it fits with everything else going on:
- Connect the dots. Use the same language as your organisation’s strategy. Show how your change delivers on key goals and solves the big problems.
- Get clear on priorities and sequencing. Use your steering committee, other leaders, your EPMO or change office, to agree on the order and timing of organisational changes.
- Bundle changes. Where possible, coordinate under one program or theme. Assign a central change and communication capability if you can.
- Use your governance and stakeholder groups well. Don’t just report. Use them to discuss risks and impacts, resolve overlaps, and design thoughtful approaches.
Your people don’t expect perfection. But they do need to know someone’s looking at the bigger picture – and protecting their time and focus.
3. Lead and manage your change well
It sounds obvious, but poor change management is a top contributor to change fatigue. It’s also a workplace safety hazard. So:
- Lead it well. As sponsor, you set the tone. Be active and visible. Share the ‘why’. Connect the dots. Back it with action. Share outcomes, own setbacks, be transparent about changes in direction, and listen to your people.
- Manage it well. Put in place a structured, fit-for-purpose approach. Use experienced change resources and get strategic change advice. Understand the impacts. Actively manage the risks.
And make sure you close out your change properly!
In our article on evolution vs revolution, I explore how people perceive change differently. It might help you tailor your approach.
You can also follow our guide to successful change.
What this looks like for your people
When change is necessary, aligned, and well-led, it looks like this for your people:
- The change is important. They understand and have bought into why this specific change needs to happen, and why now.
- The change makes sense. It feels connected to the bigger picture — not just a random new initiative. They’ve heard leaders talk about the broader direction, and this change fits with that.
- There’s clarity, not confusion. They’re not hearing mixed messages or seeing competing priorities. The work feels coordinated, not chaotic.
- The timing feels considered. It doesn’t feel like everything’s hitting at once. There’s space to absorb the change because other work has been sequenced or adjusted.
- They know what’s coming, when. A simple enterprise roadmap or calendar shows what changes are coming, when, and who’s affected.
- They don’t feel pulled in multiple directions. If other changes are also affecting them, it feels like someone has thought about the overlap and streamlined things where possible.
- They trust there’s a plan. Even if they don’t see all the moving parts, there’s a sense that someone is seeing them – and managing the change in context, not isolation.
- Their leaders are consistent. Managers are on the same page, reinforcing the same direction and goals.
The takeaway
Change fatigue is real. But it doesn’t have to derail your transformation.
You can lead successful change without exhausting your people. It starts with asking the hard questions, aligning with what’s already happening, and putting in place thoughtful, well-executed change leadership.
This will contribute to a resilient, innovative culture where both your organisation and your people thrive.
Because the last thing you need is another initiative that adds to the fatigue – or gets ignored before it even begins.
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