How To Beat The Fear Of Burnout And ‘Quiet Quitting’ During A Company Acquisition
Burnout and 'quiet quitting' by mentally checking out are often heightened during organizational change that is dramatic, unwelcome and when the change is happening rapidly. Change that impacts an employee's work routine or affects their careers can also bring about a rise in stress or make employees respond to a lack of autonomy by 'quiet quitting.' It's no wonder company mergers and acquisitions bring up the already popular conversation around burnout. It's a time when employees may feel a lack of control, autonomy and ownership. During a merger and company acquisition, as a manager, your role expands too.
To help you connect, anticipate concerns, plan and support your employees during a company acquisition, I connected with Christine J. Spadafor. She's an experienced management consultant who has worked extensively as a Board of Directors advisor to Fortune 500 C-suite executives and a lecturer and presenter at several Harvard schools.
Rachel Montañez: Clear communication conveys respect and makes people feel informed to make decisions. So, what can leaders do to communicate effectively?
Christine J. Spadafor: Ask the employees in each company how they prefer to receive transaction updates. What mode of communication helped them feel most informed in the past? And then design the communication plan around the mode that best resonates with that specific employee audience. There's wisdom in the crowd.
Consistency, consistency, consistency of messaging is imperative, too, with the appropriate level of disclosure and confidentiality. Rumors are more interesting than the truth. If there's a communication "vacuum," it will be filled quickly by rumors, so keep ahead of communications and maintain control over the messaging internally and externally.
Finally, develop a set of Frequently Asked Questions for internal distribution. FAQs are an efficient way to keep employees informed and updated with consistent messaging. Remember that the FAQs need to be reviewed and updated regularly, as employees commonly have additional questions they would like included.
Montañez: Employees will 'quiet quit' and are more prone to burnout when they are not recognized and valued. FAQs are a good step to show that you are listening and responding. What questions may employees be asking?
Spadafor:
Will my job change, and if so, how? Who will I report to?
Will I have a new boss?
Will my pay change and benefits change?
Will I have to relocate?
Will I have a new job description?
Will my schedule change?
Can I keep my flexible hours?
Can I continue to work from home, or will I be required to be in the office every day?
Will there be promotions? Demotions?
Where do the "acquired" employees fit in? Are they going to take my job?
Montañez: Typically, with an acquisition, employees experience an increase in work-related anxiety. Can you tell us more about what happens on the organizational side?
Spadafor: There may also be fear and anxiety on the company's part, as some employees may decide to leave voluntarily. Some because of burnout, some feel like they don't "fit in" anymore, and some choosing not to conform to a culture of increased accountability. In one instance, I was leading a town hall and explained that going forward; the performance bar was going to be raised with new accountability for impact and results. I saw a hand go up in the back of the auditorium, and I called on the person who said, "But I like the low bar!" Within three months, she voluntarily opted out.
Montañez: How can companies use cultural integration planning to help prevent burnout and the example you shared?
Spadafor: Employees want to "work to live," not "live to work." Integration of acquisitions places an extra workload on employees while at the same time they're running the business.
To reconcile tensions with an acquisition, conduct open discussions with employees to explore innovative collective strategies to prevent employee burnout. Be an "active" listener (what are the employees really saying?), ask questions and solicit feedback.
Based on those discussions, leadership at different levels – C-suite, directors, managers, supervisors – in partnership with HR, can design work schedules focused on getting necessary work accomplished while maintaining physical, social and mental health well-being.
Montañez: What resources can companies offer to set their employees up for success during times of change?
Spadafor: One of the greatest resources companies can offer during transition is to include employees (to the extent appropriate) in different aspects of developing the path forward, particularly around new processes linked to their day-to-day work. This helps build trust in the transition process and ownership of the solutions.
Christine Spadafor also suggests the following five ways to support employees during an acquisition:
1. Employing multiple communication methods
Use focus groups, social media campaigns, open forums, town halls, an online internal "transition information website," frequent "pulse" employee surveys and joint working sessions.
2. Treating leadership as a verb.
Leaders need to role model positivity about the transaction. At the same time, acknowledging when they don't have all the answers. Leadership goes beyond the C-suite. Emphasize that directors, managers and supervisors at all levels are change agents and will be held accountable for their role modeling.
3. Increasing access.
Visibility and availability of the Human Resources staff are important, as well as a supervisor being available for empathic 1:1 conversations.
4. Increasing wellness physical and mental health program offerings.
Employees frequently feel overwhelmed with all the changes and uncertainty, have increased anxiety, and are overworked. Yet, this type of support is essential and often overlooked.
5. Focusing on professional development.
Identify knowledge gaps and focus on training, skill building, and professional development to align with the new business model and achievement of strategic goals.
Change and crises provide transformational opportunities to lay the groundwork for a healthy, high-performing organization, but that's only achieved when there's a holistic organizational culture. Your employees set the culture - invest in them.
This article was first published on Forbes.com.