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Hybrid working: starting in the workplace
Hybrid working: starting in the workplace

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1.1 Adapting to change

For many people, starting work or switching careers is a major change they need to adapt to. It can be exciting and lead to numerous opportunities. It can also require some planning to make the most of the new job, and changes it may have for your personal circumstances.

When joining the hybrid workforce, a number of specific skills and behaviours need to be learned in order to successfully manage the new expectations your employer may have.

Change management has long been an area of discussion within the workforce, but it is only recently that change management and hybrid working have been discussed together (Power, 2021; Lenka, 2021). Traditional models can be used to show how significant change, such as moving into the hybrid workforce for the first time, can lead to increased anxiety, dissatisfaction, and a loss in productivity.

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Figure 1: The Prosci Flight-Risk Model (Prosci, 2004)
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The model comprises three regions, depicted as horizontal layers. Comfort/security (shown in blue at the bottom of the figure), is the normal work environment. The middle layer is Worry/uncertainty (shown in yellow), which can include productivity loss, employee dissatisfaction and passive resistance. The top layer is Risk/flight (shown in orange), where turnover of valued employees and tangible customer impact are issues, and active resistance to change is apparent from some employees. Along the vertical axis, employee fear and resistance is increasing. Along the horizontal axis, time is moving forward. A dashed line, starting at the bottom left of the Comfort/security layer, moving straight up through Worry/uncertainty into Risk/flight and then crossing horizontally to the right-hand side of Risk/flight until it starts to tail off downwards, represents a potential track that a group of employees may follow when faced with change. This track begins with a management communication or a rumour that change is coming and is labelled as poor change management. A solid line starts from the same point but moves gradually out of Comfort/security into the lower levels of Worry/uncertainty, before returning to Comfort/security. This line depicts the employee experience under excellent change management.

Figure 1: The Prosci Flight-Risk Model (Prosci, 2004)
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Figure 2: Fisher’s Personal Transition Curve (Fisher, 2012)
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John Fisher’s Personal Transition Curve shows a stick man going through the highs and lows of change. The curve shows him coming to terms with the fact that change will happen, dealing with what that change means, and gradually gaining confidence in the ‘new world’. The stages are, from left to right: anxiety; happiness [a high point]; fear; threat; guilt; depression [the lowest point of the main curve]; hostility [a downwards offshoot from depression]; gradual acceptance; and moving forward [the highest point of the curve]. An offshoot from happiness is denial; an offshoot from guilt is disillusionment.

Figure 2: Fisher’s Personal Transition Curve (Fisher, 2012)

Various change management models, such as those in Figures 1 and 2, depict similar issues, namely that without appropriately managing a change within the working environment, individuals can face fear, resistance, and depression, all of which significantly reduce their ability to work effectively (Fisher, 2012; Prosci, 2004). This is why it is so important to be prepared for change, to understand the difficulties you might face, and to improve any skills that may be needed to help manage this change.

Activity 2 Dealing with change

Timing: 5 minutes

Look at the Fisher Curve (Figure 2) and think about a time when you have faced a significant change.

  • Where did you find yourself on the curve?

  • If it was in a negative part of the curve, how did you overcome those feelings?

  • If it was in a positive part of the curve, how did you make the most of those feelings?

Comment

Everyone reacts differently to change, so there are no right or wrong answers. You may find yourself at different points on the curve at different stages within a single change. If feeling angry or afraid, some people find it helpful to talk to friends and colleagues. Help may be available through your organisation, or charities such as Mind provide information on their website that may be useful. It is also important to build on times when you feel happy and excited; perhaps you could share your ideas of how the change could benefit you and your colleagues, or make suggestions to make the change even better?