Common Stress Reactions to Change

Employees express some of the following feelings when change is happening within their organization:

Workplace

* Feeling responsible for making everything OK for their co-workers

* Concerns about how their group/department will handle impending changes

* Frustration or anger about how decisions are being made

* Frustration around "Does anybody in charge know what's happening?"

* Mistrust or fear that more change may be imminent despite the information they have been given

* Competing for control/ownership/recognition of projects to prove their value to the organization

Career

* Concerns, fear, and anxiety about their job, future, or career

* Re-examining how important their job is in their life

* Anxiety or fears that there are no other jobs out there

Daily on-the-job

* Difficulty concentrating or making decisions

* Feeling put upon or angered to do extra work ("that's not in my job description") or make job changes

* Feeling stressed out or short-tempered with supervisors

* Feeling no one listens to their concerns about how their work will be completed

Personal

* Feeling exhausted or more energetic than usual

* Increase or decrease in appetite

* Difficulty sleeping

* Feeling inadequate, guilty, or superior

* Feeling scared about what will happen to them and/or their family

Source: Assist U Employee Assistance Services, Mills Peninsula Health Services, Burlingame, CA.