The word “transformation” has topped many HR leaders’ agendas in 2025, thanks in large part to rapid AI advances. While organizations across industries are working to maximize the ROI of AI integration, experts say they can’t overlook a byproduct that is bubbling up: transformation fatigue.

New research finds that leaders and employees are burnt out from so much change—so quickly—and are concerned about lasting damage to the workforce and organization.

The report from consulting and software firm Emergn, based on data from more than 750 global organizations, found nearly half of respondents are experiencing “transformation fatigue”—and 52% blame AI. Forty-four percent say the constant change is causing burnout, and over a third are considering leaving their organization because of the shifts.

“Transformation isn’t supposed to break people; it’s supposed to build capability,” said Emergn CEO Alex Adamopoulos in a press statement. “But right now, we’re seeing the opposite.”

What’s driving transformation fatigue?

At HR Tech last month, industry analyst Josh Bersin acknowledged the challenge facing HR: “If there’s anything that’s going to hold you back in AI transformation,” Bersin said, “it’s not going to be the tech.” Instead, Bersin said, it will be HR’s struggle to redesign jobs, roles, workflows, training and employee skills.

Yet, according to Adamopoulos, too many organizations are still just “pushing hard” to adopt new tech without laying the groundwork for “human readiness.”

“This isn’t digital transformation,” he said. “It’s digital exhaustion.”

Many companies are mistaking activity for progress—and employees are noticing.

Nearly half of those surveyed said they received “insufficient training” during a transformation, while almost as many said leadership made mistakes during the process that derailed the transformation project.

Many say external consultancies worsen transformation fatigue and that communication missteps abound. Last year, about a quarter of respondents said they felt uninformed about the goals of an organization transformation—a figure that jumped to one-third in 2025.

“This is no longer just a leadership issue,” Adamopoulos said. “It’s a business model problem.”

How to avoid ‘rebranding burnout’

Change isn’t going to abate, Kevin Oakes, co-founder of the Institute for Corporate Productivity, recently told HR Executive. New research from i4cp echoes Emergn’s findings on transformation fatigue.

More than a third of those i4cp surveyed said their organizations perceive change as either “a threat,” “fatiguing” or “overwhelming.” Just one-quarter say change is part of their company’s business model.

“We have to be learning, building, improving, growing—because change is going to be constant,” Oakes said. “We’re going to have to get used to it.”

Ongoing change requires three core responses—capability-building, communication and clarity—which must be as constant as the change itself, Adamopoulos said.

“Otherwise,” he said, “all you’re doing is rebranding burnout.”

The post From innovation to exhaustion: Inside the rise of transformation fatigue appeared first on HR Executive.

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