In difficult business environments change doesn’t always have positive connotations. It implies tight resources, downsizing and increased workloads. Yet organizational change should be an ongoing process that is designed to ensure that highly capable people are working within processes that benefit both the organization and the workers no matter what kind of economic conditions exist. In that context, change becomes a positive business model that relies on employee engagement, effective human resources utilization and a shift from short-term to long-term thinking.

A company must be adaptive and adept at responding to market dynamics. A business always needs a high level of employee engagement, but a difficult environment adds a sense of urgency in many cases. Just when the organization needs its workforce to become more productive and more engaged, many find employees struggling to stay committed out of fear of the economic impact on their jobs and the changes that seem to be looming in the workplace. This can lead to disengagement that disrupts innovative processes and can lead to lower productivity. Employees who are fearful and not involved in the change process will feel threatened, confused and discouraged due to the exclusion from decision making.