Workplace uncertainty: How leaders can build trust and support employees during change

The future of work is becoming increasingly uncertain… from technological advances, the rise of automation and the pace of work, the sheer amount of change we have to cope with can cause a lot of anxiety and stress in the workplace, which is having a huge impact on our mental health. So how can we deal with workplace uncertainty and change in the workplace? 

Oak Engage's latest report surveyed over 1000 employees aged 16 -55+ from across the UK and found that:

• 40% of employees feel anxious towards change
• 20% of employees feel a complete loss of control.
• 29% of employees do not feel included when change is happening in their organisation 
• 41% of employees say that a lack of trust in leadership makes them resistant to change 

Organisations play a huge role in supporting employees through change. So what can you do to ensure you’re providing a safe space and supporting your employees…

Set the tone 

Leaders play a significant role in change management. Leaders set the tone for how the organisation works and can really inspire change throughout the workforce. When communicating changes, leaders must be visible and bring everyone together to work towards a shared vision - employee voice is important here. People want to feel that they’re listened to and appreciated by their superiors. 

Propose your vision for change, ask for feedback and work with your employees to create clear goals and outcomes, this ensures everyone knows exactly what they need to do to make the vision a reality and can see how the change is a positive thing. 

“Ultimately cultural change must be driven through great leadership. For me, leadership development and leadership capability has to be at the heart of any cultural change.” - Lisa Wheatcroft, Change Management Expert 

Build trust

When employees trust their workplace the whole employee experience is improved.  Employee’s moods, satisfaction levels and collaboration skyrockets. It’s really important that your employees believe in your workplace - the culture, your vision and their job role. People who work at high-trust companies experience 74% less stress. Building trust is all about making your employees a part of the business - listening to them, taking action from what they say and making them feel valued. 

There are a number of ways you can build trust in your company, thirteen in fact. We identify those behaviours in our report. 

Communicate clearly

Almost a third of employees believe that change isn’t clearly communicated in their organisation. Clear communication is the basis for all change initiatives. How will people understand what you’re trying to do without reinforced communications? 

Your people are at the heart of change, and therefore everyone should be clear on what you’re trying to achieve. You must consider the best way to communicate with specific groups of employees so that they understand your messaging and make sure you communicate consistently. 

“You can’t over communicate in a change. Little and often is preferable than a

big email, but it should be multi-channel. Video guides, town halls, email, your intranets... utilise your channels. Those who are resistant may read the whole thing and the information will help them to feel less anxious and those more open on the change scale may read little bits and be like ‘yeah that’s fine’. Consider all groups when you’re communicating.” - Becky Turner, Workplace Psychologist at Claremont 

Make it a priority to have a central source of truth where employees instantly know where to go for information. Oak’s instant search functionality makes it easy for employees to access the same information at their fingertips. 

Download your copy of the change report to delve into the psychology of change and for recommendations from industry experts to make your change initiatives a success.