Extinction: How to survive changes in the workplace.

So...now that I have been in the Corporate world for almost 15 years I can tell you one common theme you will find in many highly per-formant companies. CHANGE.

I was surfing the web and listening to my son's DVD of the different species of extinct sharks. A biologist chimed in and said that when large whales disappeared the main food source of the Megaladon was gone and thus it became extinct.

If the environment around a species changes to quickly for them to accommodate that change they perish. That is the magical connection.

Over the past few weeks I have been approached but a whole host of people about how I deal with workspace and workplace change. My response has been mute as I feel in my old age I have become less change tohlerant. I enjoy my personal workspace however change in high performing companies is common place. Whats not common place is a person's natural biological needs to resist change and make their surroundings something comfortable, predictable, and settling.

The studies are back and forth about engagement levels and a personalized work spaces running in contradiction to high levels of output in team/collaborative work spaces. So where does the compromise exist?

This is something that companies and psychologist have been studying for many years...and the vote is still out.

So, for each individual there is an introspective dialog that needs to take place...does the work environment define you as a person or do you define yourself? Hopefully the latter is true...and yes this is how I have survived 8-9 moves at the same company in the last 6 years and am still happy and engaged.