Research & evidence
What change actually does to us
My doctoral work is about what restructuring does to people at work — to the working environment and to their health. Here are the main findings in plain language, what they do not answer, and where the work has been covered.
Main findings
Three things the research shows
Unpredictability is the burden itself
It is not necessarily the change itself that wears people down the most, but not knowing what is coming. Unpredictable restructuring is associated with a poorer working environment and poorer health.
The effects last longer than we think
The harm does not disappear when the restructuring is formally over. We found effects that lasted for several years afterwards — with knock-on consequences for how many people leave, and ultimately for the bottom line.
Leadership softens the burden
Leaders who are inclusive, fair and supportive through the change can reduce the burden considerably. It is the most actionable finding in the whole body of work — and it holds just as well when the change is called AI.
An honest caveat
What the research does not answer
We know that unpredictability has a price, and that leadership softens it. We know less about exactly where the limit lies for how much change an organization can take — and less still about how adopting AI differs from other kinds of restructuring.
That last one is what I am working out now.
Coverage
Where the research has been covered
STAMI
Coverage of the defence and the main findings
FriFagbevegelse
On restructuring and employee health
Psykologisk.no
The research communicated to the field
The thesis
The doctoral work in full
Named one of Norway's 50 leading women in tech 2025 by ODA-Nettverk and Abelia.
Would you like to hear more about this?
I give talks on change, unpredictability and what adopting AI means for the people in an organization.