Volatile Times Test HR’s Role in Trusted Workplace Comms

As we move through 2025, volatility seems to be the backdrop to everything, fueled by shifting tariffs, unstable supply chains, and rising costs at work and at home.

Pressure is mounting: financial constraints, leadership fatigue, declining trust, and a growing disconnect between corporate decisions and employee sentiment.

In tech and professional services, especially, AI-first restructuring and layoffs dominate headlines. These moves are framed as innovation, productivity and efficiency improvements, and economic pressures, but many see them as a way to reduce headcount.

The same goes for rigid office mandates. The message received focuses less on people-centred change, collaboration, and culture, and more on top-down control and prioritizing automation.

And people are noticing. Trust is fraying, motivation is slipping, feeling recognized and rewarded is declining, and presenteeism is on the rise (and estimated to be three times more costly than absenteeism).

In a recent conversation, I caught up with a clever entrepreneur who’s just launched an innovative talent marketplace, helping expert practitioners and consultants take on fractional roles as part of a portfolio career.

In preparing for this new venture, he’d spent time working as an executive recruiter. What stood out was his observation that, anecdotally, around half the people he spoke with were unhappy and uncommitted in their current roles. Many were staying put, not out of loyalty, but because they hadn’t yet found something better.

This isn’t an isolated trend. Recent U.S. research shows that many workers, particularly some in Gen Z, no longer see traditional corporate success as a main aim. Stability feels like a myth.

It’s common to see people juggling side hustles to meet financial needs. Others are turning away from leadership pathways altogether, viewing them as high-cost, low-reward.

In this context, trust, connection, and communication matter more than ever. The decision to leave, disengage, or stay motivated is emotional, contextual, and conditional. And if we’re not attuned to that reality, we risk misreading what our people actually need.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate…

There’s a widening gap between executive decisions and employee experience. Restructures and mandates are often announced with little context or dialogue. People are left to fill in the blanks—and they do, whether the information is correct or not.

When people feel blindsided, undervalued or ignored, trust erodes. And once it’s gone, it takes more than a managed cascade or "memo" (can’t believe this term is still used) to rebuild.

Communication isn’t a campaign. It’s a leadership behavior grounded in context, empathy and connection. It starts by listening, not broadcasting. And it needs to be visible, human and honest.

Five critical enablers make a difference:

• Regular communication that’s clear, timely and aligned to what people care about
• Creating space for real questions, sharing and understanding perspectives
• Supporting managers with tools and clarity so they’re not caught in the middle
• Using language and velocity to meet people where they are, moving at the right pace for different audiences
• Ensuring leaders are equipped to connect, not with scripts, but with self-awareness, purpose and humility.

People Don’t Need More 'Engagement'

We don’t need more surveys telling us that people feel disconnected. The signs are already there—withdrawal, apathy, presenteeism, misalignment, and falling performance. What we need is to stop chasing scores and start focusing on the things that genuinely matter to people at work.

Disengagement isn’t caused by a lack of motivation. It’s caused by a lack of clarity, connection, respect, autonomy, and purpose. People are tired of mixed messages, one-way decisions, and performative gestures that ignore the reality they’re working in.

People want to feel seen, heard, supported, and recognized. That’s how you keep motivation when certainty is in short supply.

Can We be Efficient Without Losing Our People?

Restructures, redeployments, and retraining are necessary. But how they’re handled matters. Short-term savings shouldn’t come at the expense of long-term capability. Or worse, creating environments where people no longer trust what they’re being told.

That’s why HR and comms leaders need to be involved when the decisions are made. They bring critical context and help design approaches that lift the collective resilience and adaptive capability of the organization, rather than just managing messaging after the fact.

AI-first restructures, inflexible mandates, and headcount-driven decisions may persist. However, how they are communicated, experienced, and understood determines whether trust is damaged or strengthened.

And if we’re genuine about building organizations that can flourish in uncertainty, volatility, and complexity, then we must stop treating communication as a “soft skill” or something to delegate to a junior.

It is a fundamental leadership capability, one that reduces hidden costs, creates clarity, strengthens connection and builds trust. Let’s build it intentionally and embed it at every level of leadership.