In the business world, change is inevitable. Some changes are small and easy to adapt to, while others are large and are more difficult to process. No matter what kind of change comes up, you’ll need to learn how to anticipate them and frame how you think about them. By reframing your mindset about change to be positive and by understanding the scope of the change, you can adapt to it in a more thoughtful way. In a business environment, you can research the change and find out how it could impact your work. You can also speak with your coworkers and understand how it might impact your workplace.
Assess your current mindset about the change.
At the beginning of this process, you will need to fully understand your current thoughts about the change. You may be excited, hesitant, angry, fearful, anxious, or ambivalent to the change. You may have multiple feelings or conflicting thoughts about the change and are unsure how you will react when the change is implemented. Take a few hours to think about the change that is being instituted and write down your thoughts.
Accept that change is inevitable in business.
Change is bound to happen, especially if you work in a field that is quickly growing and adapting, like technology. You may love how your business environment is at this moment, and a change may feel like a blow to your confidence. However, you should frame the way you think about this change as an opportunity to better your career and to implement new procedures into your day to day work.
Reflect on how you’ve handled past changes.
You have responded to changes in the past, even if they weren’t in your current workplace or career. Think about what that change was, and how you reacted to it. For example, you may have had to change offices with a coworker that you dislike. Did you get upset about the change and complain to management? Or did you discuss the change with your manager and work out a solution? Thinking about how you’ve responded to change in the past will help you to anticipate how you will react to this current change.
Anticipate how this change might impact your current work.
In order to adapt to a change in a business environment, you need to be able to anticipate how the change will impact you, your work, and the workplace environment. The impact could range from very small to very large. The impact will depend on the scope of the change, what sorts of adjustments you will have to make, and how quickly the change will be implemented. Anticipating how this change will impact you will help you to manage your expectations and to adapt effectively.
Research the policy, if needed.
In the business world, some changes require companies and teams to undergo major overhauls. These policies may change how the company handles clients, impacts sales, or changes the leadership of the organization. You may or may not need to research the policy to fully understand it. It can be very useful to research the change that your organization is going to make to see whether other businesses have made similar changes. For example, the change might be in management styles and the structure of your executive team. You could search online for other companies who have made that same change to see how they responded to it.
Talk to your boss or to management.
Ideally, your management will have open lines of communication and be receptive to hearing questions and concerns about the new change that is being made. You should talk with your manager or supervisor if you have questions about the change, especially about what sort of changes that you will individually have to make and its impact.
Talk to your coworkers about how they are adapting.
If you work in a business environment where other members of your team have to adapt to the same change, you can talk to them about the steps that they are taking. They may have suggestions to offer you about how you can adapt to the change. You can ask them how they have adapted and whether they are struggling with it and could use support.
Take a vacation.
Coping with changes in the workplace can be stressful. It can be helpful to take a day off, or a few days, to spend time at home and relax. Find out whether you have any paid time off days and take advantage of them. Big changes in the workplace can cause a lot of stress, and taking some time off can help you recover from the stress and feel like yourself again.
Build healthy relationships with your coworkers.
Friendships both in and outside of work are very helpful in reducing stress. Since you spend a considerable amount of time each day with your coworkers, it is helpful to build strong and healthy relationships with the people there. These relationships should have boundaries though; you shouldn’t talk about things that are inappropriate in the workplace and your friendships should never distract from your actual work.