Organisational change is adding to employee workloads and prompting staff departures, according to new research from Deloitte, which encouraged employers to measure the human cost of transformation alongside the business case.

Nearly seven in 10 (69%) change leaders said their most recent change initiative increased employee workload and burnout. Another 68% reported at least one form of employee resistance.

Two-thirds (66%) said employees left their company as a direct result of their latest initiative. They estimated turnover-related expenses at an average of $20.5 million. Separately, 45% said poorly managed change contributed to the departure of high-performing employees.

The findings come from the Deloitte + Workplace Intelligence 2026 Deloitte Change Management Study. It surveyed 1,000 change management leaders across the US, UK, Australia and Canada, all of whom had led at least one large-scale initiative in the past two years.

Painful AI transformation

The strain is particularly visible in AI transformation. Among leaders overseeing AI implementation, the average turnover-related cost rises to $25.5 million, and 61% believe AI transformation is moving faster than employees can handle.

Across all respondents, 59% said AI overload is negatively affecting employees.

Despite this, 60% said their company treats change management as a project cost rather than a business capability.

"Organisations are asking their people to navigate more change, more often, making it increasingly important to build the capacity and support employees need to adapt successfully," said Sue Cantrell, Human Capital Eminence leader at Deloitte.

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