Log in or become a subscriber

More than one in two employees are "quietly cracking" and at risk of burnout, and poor change management is a key cause of it, research has found.

Building on research she has led since 2019, The Change Lab founder Dr Michelle McQuaid's latest study of more than 1,000 Australian workers reveals that 55% are quietly cracking – in other words, "maintaining expected performance while experiencing significant internal distress".

"This hidden crisis creates a dangerous trajectory where those struggling are 6.2 times more likely to burn out," McQuaid tells HR Daily.

One of the main contributors to quiet cracking is the current "supercycle of change, where climate, economic, political, social, and technological disruptions are colliding and amplifying each other", she says, which is creating "overwhelming waves of fear, uncertainty, and doubt"...