Workplace changes can lead to breakdowns

Major changes in the workplace can push employees into mental breakdowns, an Australian researcher has found.

The effect can be particularly severe in those who have been with a company or organisation for a number of years, health club said Queensland University of Technology (QUT) psychology researcher Lynda Nguyen.

Faced with a major shake-up at work, some employees leave, while others have to take time off to deal with the psychological fall-out, she said.

"I have definitely found quite a few groups of participants who have shared with me their views in terms of having or experiencing emotional breakdowns," Ms Nguyen told AAP yesterday.

"They have had to take time away from the workplace to sort themselves out.

"The restructuring of the group has brought in a sense of health club: `Well, who's the boss now?"'

Ms Nguyen said her ongoing study at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) at Lucas Heights south of Sydney could apply to any organisation or company.

The upheaval could take many forms, including dramatic changes in systems, technology, restructuring of the whole organisation or work groups within it, relocations and integration of new staff, she said.

Role changes could be particularly hard on long-time employees who believed they were also losing prestige and power when new employees were hired above them.

Many left their jobs health club – taking their years of valuable experience with them.

Money was often the least of their worries.

They were more concerned with the changed dynamic in their workplace and their perceptions of how they fitted into it.

"With senior people, there may be some 22-year-old greenhorn coming in and managing them after they have been with the company for so many years," Ms Nguyen said.

The key to helping employees cope with change was communication, she said.

They needed reassurance their jobs were safe, the process of appointing new employees was being handled fairly and the company was sharing with them its vision for the future.