2024 Research
The State of
Change Fatigue
The results of a survey conducted in 2024 on the state of “unworkable work” within organizations finds that employees at all levels are feeling overwhelmed and frustrated by the volume and implementation of change. Poor change planning is contributing to increasingly higher levels of change fatigue.
Key Findings
- Change projects are becoming more frequent.
- Change projects aren’t well-selected or planned.
- Change projects negatively impact day-to-day work.
- Leaders are just guessing at project scope and timelines.
Overview
Between March 1 to August 1, 2024, Build Better Change and Mantis Research fielded a survey titled: "The 2024 State of Unworkable Work,” which asked participants to share quantitative and qualitative feedback on how their organizations manage certain types of internal projects.
740 people participated in the survey. The respondents were a mix of corporate employees at all levels, as well as external contract resources who are working in organizations.
All had experience with “special projects.” Throughout the report we use the terms corporate change projects, change initiatives, and special projects interchangeably.
In their Own Words
Write-In Responses
Each day feels like a different catastrophe ...unrealistic timelines, extremely tight budgets, a lack of prioritization, and no ability to alleviate less important work. It's leading my team into an incredibly negative headspace, decision fatigue, and burnout.
Time is a finite resource …but every special project I've been a part of seems to be a sprint. We need realistic deadlines and clear expectations (how many late nights?) to minimize issues and resentment.
Strategy is the art of saying no The most common issue I see is too many are initiated at one time, causing them all to have limited resources, move slower, and add more confusion to the organization on what to prioritize.