Information Outlook, Vol. 6, No. 10, October 2002

Coping with Change in the Workplace

by Sharon L. Mosenkis

Sharon L. Mosenkis is group leader for Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals at FIND/SVP, Inc., the global business advisory and consulting company in New York City.

Working to Cope

The volatility in the U.S. economy has taken as great a toll on information professionals as it has on accountants or management consultants. We have made the startling discovery that, in spite of our extraordinary contributions to our organizations and in spite of our great dedication and energy, our achievements do not insulate us from the increasingly chaotic work world around us.

Change is happening faster than ever. Mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations to improve productivity, and multiple rounds of staff reductions make it easy to lose one's bearings. Our bosses change with increasing frequency, and even CEOs are getting fired these days.

As employees, we usually take our cues from their immediate manager. If the supervisor interprets events positively, then we can focus on the job at hand. If the supervisor is rattled, distracted or constantly behind closed doors, we worry, listen to rumors and start thinking about updating our resumes.

What if there is no immediate manager? What if the one person we trusted has been terminated or reassigned? This adds yet another level of stress to our personal work environment.

Since it is likely we are being asked to accomplish more with fewer resources, there may be very little time to develop a working relationship with a new manager; and that individual may have other priorities other than understanding the importance of information or research services. The information professional may wonder whether it is even worth the effort to cultivate a relationship with a new manager, since he or she may be replaced a few months down the road.

At the same time, we information professionals have had the additional trauma of seeing effective and efficient information centers decimated by seemingly irrational efforts to cut costs. We all wonder if we (or a friend) will be next.

In actuality, we are just one piece of a larger puzzle in which corporate goals, business missions and even senior decision-makers keep changing as companies try to react to unanticipated economic pressures.

How do we cope? How do we maintain our enthusiasm for our work while avoiding stress and burnout? How do we prepare for changes that we know are coming even though we don't know precisely what those changes will be?

Change causes stresseven positive change. We cannot "fix" the world of work to make change go away. However, we can change ourselves. We can choose how we respond to change. Are we fearful? Are we hopeful? Do we avoid thinking about it? Do we worry about every rumor that is passed along by other employees? Or do we try to anticipate potential changes and prepare realistic responses to the most likely future scenarios?

In an attempt to answer these questions, the SLA 2002 conference included a panel entitled: "Great Work! Now Change!" The speakers were Judy Estrin, president of Partners in Enterprise, Inc., a Burbank, California firm, which advises companies doing large-scale personnel outplacements; Katherine Richards, a principal of WINN MALIN Information Staffing in Los Angeles; and Dr. Rita Scherrei, who was until her recent retirement, associate library director for the University of California at Los Angeles and UCLA's chief administrative librarian. Dr. Scherrei currently teaches library management at San Jose State College.

In the months leading up to this program, I conducted an informal survey via six professional listservs, inviting information professionals to share their recommendations on coping with change. I received more than 70 thoughtful and deeply concerned responses. In addition, I held in-depth discussions about dealing with change in the workplace with five highly regarded management consultants.

Below is a summary of points made by the four 2002 conference panelists, the management and human resource consultants who were interviewed, and the many information professionals who provided input into the program.

The New Employment Contract

What we can expect from our employers has changed. The general understanding of what a company owes us and what we owe itan unofficial employment contracthas evolved. We are still entitled to a wage, respect and meaningful work. However, in this new employment contract, although the employer does not have to keep us employed forever, the employer does have to keep us employable. This means training and updating our skills to be ready for future work challenges. It is our responsibility to make sure this training happens. Take all the training you can. Don't get so busy doing your current tasks that you neglect to allow yourself the time to upgrade your skills to become a more valuable worker. The training you take shouldn't just make you more effective at what you are doing now; it should prepare you for a successful future.

Your side of the contract is to use these newly acquired skills to the best of your ability for your employer. What is different in the new employment contract is its longevity. You agree to do your best for your employer while you are employed; but you are entitled to leave when the job ceases to be satisfying or when you discover a better opportunity. In fact, you always did have these rights, but in the past change was slower. We assumed we would be employed for a long time and that our employer was actively concerned about our career advancement during that time. We got in the habit of not thinking too much about our professional futures and not planning and preparing for them.

This is no longer possible. The new employment contract forces us to take active responsibility for our careers. We have to recognize the fact that this is no longer the employer's concern, except at the highest level of management.

The good news is that taking active responsibility for your career will help you cope. The best way to think about this is to assume that every position is a temporary assignment. Most bright young MBAs think this waywhy shouldn't you? More important, most CEOs and company presidents think this way, too.

The reason they do this is because thinking of your job as a temporary assignment is a better mindset to help you cope with change. If you assume change is going to happen, you will prepare for it, you will look for signs that it is about to happen, and you won't be stunned when it does happen. You won't feel the same stress, because you were expecting it to happen and because you have your action plan (and your resume) ready.

In other words, as Benjamin Franklin said, "The way to be safe is never to be secure."

The very fact that you are doing something, anything, in preparation to respond effectively to future challenges takes away that terrible, helpless feeling which can be so paralyzing at that time when you need to think most clearly

What We Can Learn from Generation Xers

In my discussions with management and human resource consultants, I was told the attitude of Generation Xers toward corporate work is different from that of previous generations. While they are as fully committed to doing excellent work for their employers as older employees are, their job is not as 'all-consuming' of their energies as it was for prior generations. They have a strong sense of self that is separate from the organization. They have a clear set of values, of which work-related values are only one part. Generation Xers do not feel the need to make excuses to leave the office early to attend a child's soccer game or concert.

What are your values? How do you define yourself? What else are you besides a librarian, a knowledge manager or a competitive intelligence analyst or research manager? Consider the balance in your life. Is there balance? For many information professionals, their work is the most interesting thing they do. They love it and willingly spend long hours at work. They devote much time to worrying about how well the work is done and how satisfied their clients are. They are loyal to their colleagues and co-workers. They are so committed to striving for excellence that they don't protest staff cuts, they just work longer hours. Are you consumed by your work? If you think you may be, it is time to step back and rebalance your life.

Guidelines for Coping with Change

Share your fears. Share your fears with your life partner or the person closest to you. Home should be your refuge. Keeping worries to yourself can destroy your home life.

Don't create additional problems by freezing out someone who cares and who may be able to help you be more objective about dealing with your worries and fears.

Acknowledge that change is constant. Accept the fact that change is now a constant in our work lives. If you accept it, you won't be overwhelmed by it. In fact, change is good for you; it is the path to personal growth. It forces you out of comfortable and predictable grooves, no matter how comfortable that rut has become.

Avoid bitterness, grudges and blame. One of the factors that keep us from accepting something new and different is the very natural desire to blame someone for our turmoil. Perhaps we think we have been treated unfairly. It is so easy to feel bitter, to hold grudges, to blame the boss or "the system" for failing us. But the more we hold tight to that bitterness and focus on how unfairly we have been treated, the harder it will be to accept that there is no going back to the comfort and predictability of the past. Focusing on how we have been "wronged" takes precious time and energy away from actually dealing with the situation itself. Be aware of this type of unconscious thought behavior. Choose to get beyond it. Look forward, not backward.

Prepare for change. Keep your skills current and be aware of trends in your environment that could affect your career. Keep your resume current.

Take breaks. Take breaks when work stresses threaten to overwhelm you. Get outdoors. Take a short walk when things get tough.

Keep networking. Even if you are happy in your current job, keep your eyes open for the next opportunity. Remember that your current position is your 'current temporary assignment.'

Take care of your body's basic needs. Exercise regularly and get enough sleep. Many people suggested yoga as an effective counter to stress.

Update your financial plan now. Know your financial situation and your financial worth so you can be realistic about how long can you survive without a paycheck. Talk to an experienced financial planner. You may be surprised at the resources you do have. When you have a plan for dealing with financial setbacks, you will be surprised at how much stress will disappear.

Take temporary assignments. Consider temporary work. Even if you can wait out a period of unemployment financially, temporary consulting will get you out into the world, reinforcing your networking and helping to maintain your technical skills.

Get out of the house. During your job search, don't spend all your time at home in front of the computer. Increase the number and frequency of your interactions with people. Don't let being unemployed become an isolating experience.

Strive for work­life balance. Remember: It's just work! You can keep your work worries in proportion if you don't define yourself solely by your profession. You are more than your resume. You are a person with many and varied talents, values and abilities. Your job uses just some of your skills, but not necessarily the most important ones. If you recognize your other talents and abilities, you will find a period of tension on the job or of unemployment to be not quite so demoralizing. You will maintain your self-confidence.

Develop non-work-related interests. Take time to develop interests and goals that are different from and unrelated to what you do at the office. Focus outward on the people in your life, not inward on your worries. Reach out to family, friends and worthy organizations. Appreciate how much there is of value in your life. This will go a long way toward helping you cope with the stresses of change.

Thomas Carlyle understood that the worst consequence of wave after wave of unanticipated change and the ensuing workplace chaos was its affect on our self-confidence. It doesn't take much of this kind of buffeting to undermine our sense of self. And the more prolonged the crisis, the more thorough the battering the psyche takes. The guidelines above can help you avoid this sort of personal wear and tear. However, no matter how helpful each guideline may be, it won't help until you take action personally. So row your own boat. Don't sit there waiting to be tossed about by each breaking wave.

I find the following thought (as said by Deepak Chopra) immensely comforting in times of great upheaval: "Nothing limits us except ourselves; for the truest aspect of every person is unbounded potential."