We’ve heard it many times before - humans struggle with change
My observation is that most employees aren’t actually resistant to change, they’re exhausted by change that feels disconnected, poorly explained or imposed without context.
With ‘change fatigue’ being thrown around to describe a disengaged workforce who appear slow to adopt new ways of working, the reality is that this fatigue comes down to a lack of clarity around why the change is being implemented in the first place. We’re missing the ‘why’, and it matters.
A recipe for change resistance
Right now, many Australian organisations are facing a difficult combination of low mobility, low engagement and relentless transformation. ABC analysis recently reported that only 7.7 per cent of Australians changed jobs in the year to February 2025, or about one in 13 people, compared with almost one in five in 1989. At the same time, Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2026 found global employee engagement fell to 20 per cent in 2025, its lowest level since 2020.
In other words, many people are staying put, but they aren’t necessarily switched on. This ‘job hugging’ creates a very real risk for employers: the hidden toll of people keeping their heads down, doing the minimum and waiting for conditions to improve.
The story behind the strategy
For HR professionals, this is an important moment.
Most organisations have a long list of change initiatives to deliver, from digital transformation and AI adoption to restructures, new systems, compliance requirements and shifts in operating models. A common concern I hear from executives is how to get adoption and return on investment from these changes.
The answer isn’t another communication plan, a bigger launch event or a more detailed project update. Often, the missing piece is a coherent story that helps people understand the point.
Because in the right context, humans actually love change. We seek out change when it feels exciting or meaningful. Think about a new car, a holiday somewhere unfamiliar or moving into a new home. This kind of change is motivating, even if it requires effort.
Purpose comes first
How we feel about change comes down to whether the change feels worth it.
Inside organisations, change becomes draining when people can’t see how it connects to the bigger picture.
- If initiatives arrive as a series of disconnected tasks, employees experience them as noise.
- If priorities constantly shift without explanation, people become sceptical.
- If leaders ask for commitment without showing how decisions align with purpose, employees quickly detect the gap.
This is where purpose becomes a practical leadership lever, not a corporate statement.
Too often, purpose appears in onboarding materials and is mentioned at town halls, but isn’t visible in priorities and leadership behaviour.
Real purpose must be seen, felt and lived by your people.
Understanding the ‘why’ behind change
When people clearly understand why the organisation exists and how their work contributes, purpose becomes lived. It guides decisions, priorities and focus at every level.
HR teams are uniquely placed to help leaders move purpose off the wall and into the work.
This might look like challenging leaders to explain not only what is changing, but why it matters. Or helping managers draw a golden thread between organisational purpose, strategic priorities and everyday work.
That golden thread is critical.
When people can connect their tasks to something meaningful, work feels different. It’s no longer just another system to learn, another meeting to attend or another process to follow. It becomes part of a larger contribution.
The same applies to change.
Every organisation needs a simple, coherent change narrative that explains why change is needed, what is changing and how people will be impacted. Done right, it becomes a shared journey.
Connecting to the big picture
A strong change narrative does three things:
- It connects change to the big picture, so people understand why it’s needed and the difference it will make.
- It brings change activity together in a more streamlined and sequenced way, so people are not overwhelmed by a seemingly endless list of projects.
- It embeds change into how leaders lead and how teams work, so adaptation becomes part of the operating rhythm rather than a series of disruptions.
I’ve seen this in practice recently with a major client - they’ve used the change narrative we created to connect multiple initiatives into a story their people would understand, making it feel clearer and more relevant.
For HR leaders, the opportunity is to help organisations shift from push to pull. Instead of pushing initiative after initiative onto depleted teams, HR can help create the conditions for people to see where the organisation is going, why it matters and how they contribute.
That starts with three practical questions:
- Why do we exist?
- How does this change help us deliver on that purpose?
- How does each team’s work contribute to the bigger picture?
When leaders can answer those questions clearly and consistently, change feels more coherent. When they can’t, people fill the gaps themselves, often with cynicism or confusion.
Change fatigue isn’t inevitable, but it requires leaders to stop treating purpose as a slogan and start using it as a strategic filter. Because people aren’t tired of meaningful progress, they’re tired for change that doesn’t make sense.
Cherie Mylordis is the founder of nextgenify
