Change Efforts Caused Disruptions for Most Companies
Managers should monitor leadership behaviors, as most firms struggle to prepare for organizational shifts.
Updated on Sept. 23, 2026 in Remote Work
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A survey of 880 HR leaders across 11 countries found that 51% of organizations experienced moderate or major disruption during recent change efforts. This highlights a significant gap in preparedness, as only 39% of leaders predicted such friction before initiatives launched.
Why it matters
Poorly managed change processes frequently result in extended productivity losses, with 41% of companies requiring over three months to recover. This stems from a failure to identify negative leadership behaviors, which compound the impact of organizational shifts.
Eighty-seven percent of surveyed firms lacked high levels of preparation for change, while 44% of leaders failed to recognize their own negative behavior during periods of disruption.
The players
Insights
A U.K.-based research firm specializing in HR and organizational leadership metrics.
The details
Organizations often underestimate the friction caused by internal shifts, with productivity falling more than twice as fast when managers demonstrate negative behaviors. By failing to account for these psychological and operational triggers before implementation, companies extend their recovery timelines significantly beyond the initial change event.
Timeline
September 23, 2026: The research findings were published.
Market Landscape
These findings mirror the persistent productivity gap documented in large-scale organizational change management trends. The data confirms that most firms remain ill-equipped to bridge the space between strategic planning and the reality of employee-level adaptation.
Owners and managers should verify that change initiatives include explicit leadership communication protocols to mitigate negative behaviors. Monitoring for early productivity dips is essential to preventing recovery periods that exceed three months.
The takeaway
Productivity decline during change is not merely an operational risk but a leadership failure often missed by those in charge. Managers should document and audit their own reactions during times of transition to ensure their demeanor does not actively hinder recovery speed.
Further reading
For more on building agile teams, explore our section on Remote Work.
Live Poll
Do you trust that business leaders are typically prepared for major organizational disruptions?
