The past year of trauma, loss, and upheaval has dramatically altered the workplace. Faced with continuous disruptions and forced to adapt to lockdowns, layoffs, and homeschooling, employees are understandably exhausted.
There are rising levels of stress and burnout across the globe: 75 percent of employees in the US and almost a third in the Asia-Pacific region report symptoms of burnout, and European countries have reported increasing levels of pandemic fatigue.
But for all organizations, there are more changes ahead – like vaccination rollouts, back-to-the-office plans, mergers, and acquisitions, or revamped company strategies. Change is essential to business survival, and many organizations are undertaking necessary transformations right now.
This has created one of the biggest challenges organizations will face in 2021: How can they buoy employees exhausted from relentless turmoil and change, and equip them for the further changes coming their way this year?
Communication will be at the very heart of how companies and their leaders step up to this challenge. To help you tackle what lies ahead, we asked three experts in behavioral science, communication, and change management to share their advice for employee communicators this year.
Download “6 tips to combat change fatigue” to read each expert’s top two pieces of advice for re-energizing your workforce in 2021.
Tim Vaughan
Editorial Director, Poppulo
In today’s competitive business landscape, it’s increasingly important to showcase the impact and value of internal communication efforts. IC teams that use data-driven strategies can ensure their communications contribute to business success—and, most importantly, that they have the proof to back it up.
It’s time for a strategic communications reset. Strategic focus is key to company success, yet half of internal comms executives say they don’t strategize to deliver their top priorities.
The debate over the return to the office remains divided, with opinions on whether to return—or in what capacity to return—split across the board. Regardless of whether the return is mandatory or voluntary, it will be doomed if the office experience is subpar. If the in-person environment fails to meet employees’ needs and expectations, it will inevitably lead to low morale and poor engagement, making it difficult to retain and attract top talent.
