Assess Change, Communication, Control, and Emotions before Implementing Changes Exploring change, communications, control issues, and emotions is often the best way to begin to understand what is causing conflict in the workplace, and what can be done to curb or control the situation. Once there is a basic understanding of these elements, it is much easier to develop a management strategy that constructively reduces stress in the workplace, which in turn will decrease absenteeism, improve productivity, and ultimately influence health care costs.