When Communication in The Workplace Fades Before Your Role Changes
Organizational changes often begin with subtle shifts in leadership communication, leading employees to feel excluded as their roles are re-evaluated. This lack of communication, driven by strategic focus and decision uncertainty, can demotivate s...
Organizational changes are not always announced directly. They usually start with small changes in communication. Employees can experience the absence of check-ups, lack of participation in meetings, or a feeling of fading presence from their leaders. Studies have shown that communication changes are frequent occurrences during organizational changes, which usually occur when there is a shift in organizational strategy. However, such changes go uncommunicated as well. To employees, changes in communication are experienced as personal events even though they are organizational events. Because the change is progressive, it goes unnoticed initially, but after some time, its effects become noticeable. The initial feeling of participation is now a feeling of exclusion.
Why do leaders pull back during transitions?
Leadership communication has much to do with the focus of an organization. In times of change, leadership may tend to pay more attention to areas associated with the future needs of the organization. According to a paper published in Current Psychology (Springer) in 2024, leadership involvement changes according to the extent of strategic fit and the uncertainty of decisions made. As a consequence, leadership may cease communicating with certain employees as their roles need to be reconsidered. Although this process takes place for purely practical reasons, there is no way for an employee to recognize that.
Image Credit: Gemini
Silence starts signaling something else
The most evident sign of value in any workplace setting is communication. Once it is lacking, employees tend to perceive it as an indication that they are not valued. According to research by the University of Missouri, a lack of communication between leaders and employees in workplaces is correlated with demotivation, stress, and lack of participation. Eventually, employees will start withdrawing and participating less in any discussions, not taking initiatives because of insecurity, and forming a vicious circle where poor communication results in invisibility, and vice versa. Communication in the workplace is crucial in stopping this chain of events. If employees know the rationale behind the changes, they will stay involved in the process. Otherwise, silence speaks louder than words.
