How to cope with change in the workplace

Life Coach and self development expert Phil Hyland says that when we experience change we tend to amplify the impact of it by our own actions.

• Coping with unexpected change is hard for anyone, but we can learn how to manage it
• Recognising when we’re feeling overwhelmed
• Taking action to reduce change in other areas or our lives

Most of us live on a hamster wheel.

We get up, go to work (and usually resent it), go home and go to bed. Rinse and repeat… for YEARS.

We do the same old thing day in, day out and just like anything we repeatedly do, simply become used to it.

Then WALLOP.

We get thrown a curveball. Break a leg skateboarding after narrowly evading a Chihuahua. Lose our job after the boss discovered ‘that’ email. Get thrown into lockdown.

Curveballs that we can’t really avoid.

That routine we’ve become so well accustomed to is lobbed right out of whack, and being creatures of habit, we don’t like it, unless we’re trained in the art of change management.

Let me introduce the concept of VUCA – Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity.

We all experience this throughout life, in different areas at different times.

Moving house is a prime example. It’s a volatile period, very uncertain, a complex issue and often we’re never completely sure how it’ll end. That VUCA dial is turned up and if you’ve ever moved house, you will have experienced. It’s a tough gig.

Here’s the key…

Step one – recognise when that VUCA dial is turned up.

Often we’re simply not even aware because we’ve become so consumed in the hideous whirlwind of stress. So first, take time to step out and look at where you’re at.

Step two – when the dial is up in one area of life, turn it down in another.

When a stressful change is happening, a lot of folks add fuel to the fire by ramping up efforts in another area of life. Bad idea.

Let’s say you’re starting a new job. Scary. Nervous. Unsure of what it might hold. That is not the time to embark on a crazy new healthy living plan. Put that on hold, dial it down, nail the basics and then dive into it once you’re settled.

Maybe your relationship is on the rocks? You’ve got no idea what’s going on. It’s an uncertain time and the VUCA dial is on max. Starting a side hustle selling ball bearings is probably not the best idea right now.

So how do we manage change?

Obviously there are a load of strategies, but one thing is to check in on those VUCA dials, and twiddle those knobs accordingly.