One of the unfortunate byproducts of the serial changes of the last two years has been fragmentation across organizations. Such division is the result of things like varying beliefs about how much flexibility workers should have in terms of where and when they work, as well as abrupt shifts in business models. And that’s on top of the physical isolation people are feeling due to remote work. Some research from Microsoft suggests that collaboration across the organization went down by 25% during the pandemic.
Unifying Your Company’s Old Guard and New Arrivals
The Great Resignation has likely changed your workforce. Don’t let it divide you into “us” and “them.”
March 17, 2022
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Summary.
Seasons of disruptive change can fracture an organization’s sense of solidarity. One of the most divisive factors from the past two years has been the mass exodus of employees from the workplace, alongside a significant amount of hiring to bring on new ones. Relational dynamics have been torn without the opportunity to re-stitch the seams between new connections. So, companies are left with numerous camps of “we’s” and “they’s.” That creates one of the most dangerous organizational places to be — making decisions from a place of estrangement based on incomplete information built on partial truths. If your organization has been divided over the last two years, the author presents several ways you can start putting the pieces back together and reuniting people.
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Change may be the only constant in today's organizations. Here's how to lead through it.
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New!
HBR Learning
HBR Learning
Change Management Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Change Management. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Change may be the only constant in today's organizations. Here's how to lead through it.