Internal comms in AN AGe of Polycrisis
The first research that names what internal communicators are actually navigating in 2026, and a framework for what comes next.
In the United States, Google searches for “feel overwhelmed” sit at their highest rate in two decades. The reason why has a name — polycrisis — and our internal communications playbooks were never built for it. Every message now lands into a workforce that’s bracing for a change, absorbing one underway, or working through one that was never properly acknowledged. Most organizations respond with neutral, forward-looking messaging optimized for risk mitigation rather than trust.
Shifting Ground draws on 24 practitioner surveys, eight executive interviews, and benchmark data from Edelman, Gallagher, Wellhub, Deloitte, and others. It introduces The Steady Framework, a six-principle structure adapted from SAMHSA’s standard for trauma-informed care, for designing communications that account for how people actually receive information under sustained pressure.
What’s inside
The Organizational Empathy Gap. How risk-averse language widens the gap it’s meant to close — and what the cost looks like in the data.
The Crisis Overlap. The three layers (global, organizational, personal) every message lands inside, and why the personal layer is heavier than most organizations account for.
Designing for the Edges. Why the curb-cut effect changes how internal comms should be built for the whole workforce, not just the average employee.
Communicators as Strategists. The personal cost data on what reactive comms is doing to your team, and what shifts when communicators are treated as advisors instead of mouthpieces.
The Steady Framework. Six principles, adapted from SAMHSA’s trauma-informed care standard, for designing comms that hold up under sustained pressure.
