Spiraling Out of Control? The Impact of Chronic Stress on Civil Servant Perceptions of the Frequency of Workplace Changes

Abstract

Global political and economic instability have highlighted the importance of resilient governments capable of managing rapid change. However, continuous changes can overwhelm civil servants, leading to change fatigue. While prior studies have explored the impact of perceived frequent change on civil servants’ stress levels, little attention has been given to reverse causality in public management research. Psychological and neuroscience studies suggest that stress can influence individuals’ perceptions of workplace changes. To address this gap, we examine the relationship between chronic stress and civil servants’ perceptions of organizational change frequency. We analyze hair cortisol as a measure of chronic stress and survey data on change perceptions. Data were collected from 43 municipal civil servants at three points in time, offering a total of 129 observations. We find a significant effect of stress on perceptions of change frequency, shedding light on how stress shapes civil servants’ perception of organizational change.