October 30, 2025
U.S. Employees Say Workplace Changes Are Creating More Stress Than Progress
Change is meant to help companies evolve. However, when it’s constant, messy, and poorly managed, it starts to wear people down.
According to Eagle Hill Consulting’s latest Change Management Survey, while 63% of U.S. employees faced some kind of workplace change in the past year, more 30% didn’t think the disruption was worth it.
Many employees see the upside of new systems or structures. Nearly half (46%) said efficiency improved, and 43% said they became more focused on company goals. The problem isn’t the change itself but how it’s handled. Only 25% believe their company rolls out change effectively across the workforce.
The Strain of Nonstop Transformation
Behind the statistics are people feeling stretched thin. Forty-five percent said their workload went up during periods of change, and 43% reported higher stress. Over 60% said their managers didn’t adjust their regular duties to free time for learning and adaptation.
It’s no surprise that just 24% of employees said the way their company handles change makes it easy to adapt. Even positive initiatives can feel punishing if teams aren’t given the time or guidance to adjust.
Employees tend to respond best when the purpose is clear. Major product launches, technology updates, and AI initiatives were seen most favourably. Still, changes that feel imposed, such as return-to-office mandates, are a sore point and 46% said such mandates made things worse.
Whose Voice Counts
While 57% of employees feel they can flag what needs improvement, only 40% think their input matters when it comes to how change happens. A little under 30% believe they have any say in what gets prioritised.
Older generations feel the squeeze the most: 70% of Gen Xers and 82% of Baby Boomers said they had to adapt to change without any reduction in workload, compared with over half of Millennials and Gen Z.
Melissa Jezior, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eagle Hill Consulting, said: “The key to successful change is not just what you change, but how you change. When employees experience increased workload and stress without adequate support during change, that ultimately impacts the effectiveness of change efforts. Smart, effective, and efficient change management strategies engage employees along the way.”
