The World Economic Forum predicts that in the next two years, 5 million jobs will have been lost across 12 developed nations as a result of increased automation and robotisation. But, the International Labour Organisation is less conservative in their estimation; they state that across places like Cambodia, Indonesia, The Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand, 137 million jobs will be lost as a result of the robotisation of the garment industry alone. That equates to an epic 56% of the workforce.
We are already feeling the ripples of change and the social cost of it; when industry is suddenly inundated with new innovation it can create massive levels of confusion and that confusion can lead to paralysis. This has a significant impact on how people cope with change and we are beginning to see emotional signs of the overload.
Here are five signs of the emotional impact we have started to observe in our client organisations:
- Change overload (too much change)
- Ill-prepared for change (unready)
- Past experience of change leading to anxiety
- Avoidance/Resistance in the face of change
- Emotional experience of change
We know that the ‘well being at work’ sector is positioned to provide the symptomatic treatment of these conditions but perhaps this ‘after-care’ service is simply too late. Maybe the answer is in reform rather than recovery.
Our latest white paper addresses the fantastic rate of change being experienced by organisations today and presents a pragmatic way for leaders and managers to engage more effectively with their people during change. So, to find out more about how to create enabling environments that distil negative emotions and increase readiness for change, please download our white paper ‘How To Create Organisational Agility In Times Of Rapid Change’.
1. World Economic Forum (2016) ‘Five Million Jobs by 2020: the real challenge of the fourth revolution’, accessed 12 July 2018 https://www. weforum.org/press/2016/01/five-million-jobs-by-2020-the-real-challenge- of-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/>
2. International Labour Organisation (2015) Insights into Working Conditions in India’s Garment industry, International Labour Organisation, Geneva
Notion is a global expert in behaviour change. For more information about how to help leaders and managers to navigate change, download our white paper by clicking here or call us for an informal chat on +44(0) 1926 889 885.
