When Change Becomes Overwhelming: The Impact of Multiple Concurrent Changes on Employee Well-Being

When Change Becomes Overwhelming: The Impact of Multiple Concurrent Changes on Employee Well-Being
Joris Van Ruysseveldt; Open Universiteit, The Netherlands
Background
In contemporary organizations, employees are frequently confronted with overlapping changes such as digitalization, restructuring, and innovation. Prior research has shown that such changes can profoundly affect employees’ well-being. Most studies have emphasized factors such as change intensity, event strength, or the nature of the change (e.g., innovation versus reorganization) in shaping these effects. The present study adopts a different perspective by focusing on employees’ exposure to multiple concurrent changes. We ask whether the cumulative number of ongoing changes amplifies the impact on employee well-being—negatively, positively, or both.
In line with the Adaptation-Activation (ADACT) model, we establish a theoretically grounded link between changes at the organizational level and their consequences at the workplace level. We investigated how organizational changes cascade through the work environment, altering key job characteristics that, in turn, influence employee well-being. We propose a dual-path mechanism. On the one hand, multiple concurrent organizational changes exert a negative, energy-depleting effect on employees by increasing cognitive load. On the other hand, such changes may also produce positive, growth-enhancing effects by raising learning demands. Accordingly, with regard to the six-week period under study, our hypotheses are as follows:
H1: The number of multiple concurrent changes is positively associated with intra-individual increases in emotional exhaustion and cognitive dysfunction, and this relationship is mediated by an increase in cognitive load.
H2: The number of multiple concurrent changes is positively associated with intra-individual increases in workplace learning outcomes, and this relationship is mediated by an increase in learning demands.
Method
Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to longitudinal data from a representative sample of the Dutch workforce (N = 547). Latent change score (LCS) modeling assessed the proposed within-person changes over time. Constructs were measured using validated questionnaires.
Results
Hypothesis 2 was fully supported: the higher the number of concurrent changes, the greater the increase in learning demands, which in turn is associated with an increase in workplace learning outcomes over the same six-week period. The results for Hypothesis 1 are somewhat less conclusive: as the number of concurrent organizational changes increases, a corresponding intra-individual increase in cognitive load is observed. However, this increase in cognitive load is only marginally significantly associated with increases in emotional exhaustion and cognitive dysfunction.
Conclusion
These findings highlight the dual impact of multiple concurrent organizational changes on employees. While exposure to several simultaneous changes can enhance workplace learning by increasing learning demands, it also carries a potential risk for employee well-being by enhancing cognitive load. For practitioners, this underscores the importance of carefully managing the pace and coordination of organizational changes. Change managers should avoid introducing too many changes at once and, stagger initiatives to prevent cognitive overload. Organizations and supervisors should provide adequate resources, clear guidance, and sufficient recovery time to support employees’ learning and well-being. By attending to both the developmental and well-being aspects of employees, organizations can foster resilience and adaptability during periods of intense change.