Change Resistance

Organizational change is the movement of an organization from one situation to another. Organizational change may involve changing a company’s structure, strategy, policies, procedures, technology, or culture. The change may be planned years in advance or may be forced upon an organization because of a shift in the environment.

The reluctance to adapt to change when it is happening or when it is introduced is called resistance to change (Sharma, 2019). Change resistance can happen with individuals, relationships, or within organizations (Spring, 2021). If these different types of change resistance are further explained.

Individual resistance –

This occurs when employees resist change based on their unique perceptions, personalities, and needs (Sharma, 2019). Job security, habit, and economic factors have a massive influence on individual resistance. The author of this article plays a managerial role in an organization which is in the BPO sector. In the recent past, there was a change that happened in the said organization where the management had to merge two different roles and create a new role with different responsibilities due to different circumstances. In this scenario, the author realized that some of the employees prefer to be in their previous job role because they are comfortable with it. Some don’t like to have more responsibilities on their plate even though it adds more value to their job profile.

Organizational resistance –

The tendency for an organization to resist change and want to maintain its status. Companies that suffer from organizational change resistance become inflexible and are unable to adapt to environmental or internal demands for change (Sharma, 2019). Some of the signs that organizational resistance is in play include internal power struggles, poor decision–making processes, and bureaucratic organizational structures.

The author believes that many government organizations in Sri Lanka are suffering from organizational change resistance. This could be an assumption but there are multiple reasons that can be provided to prove this point. For example, the magistrate courts in the country are still using the paper documentation method which is inefficient and highly insecure. This could be replaced with technology but still, there is no sign that these organizations are going to change the system into digital mode.

The reasons for resistance to change

It is always necessary to identify why individuals and organizations suffer from change resistance.

1.              Lack of trust

One reason for resistance to change is a lack of trust in the leadership team or the company as a whole. It can have implications for turnover as well as employees giving leadership the benefit f the doubt when issues do arise. Employees who resist a change initiative are often responding to the person in the leadership position rather than the change itself (Spring, 2021).

2.              Poor communication

Lack of communication can greatly impact even the most well-planned organizational changes. It is important to cultivate a culture of transparency whenever feasible and to share information as often as possible with employees, especially when trying to navigate a change. If employees are not given information in a timely manner, especially in the era of social media, misinformation and discontent can quickly spread through the workforce.

3.              Emotional response

Emotions are a part of any organization and those that are employed in them. Fear, uncertainty and worry are the most common emotional responses to change. Out of these negative emotions “fear of failure” plays a major role when it comes to change resistance. Employees often worry that this will negatively impact their performance reviews, and job security, and even have implications for pay.

How to overcome resistance to change? 

There are a few things that the individuals in the management can try out to overcome change resistance.

1.              Communicate early and often

Let employees know about changes that come about as soon as possible and make them aware of them.

2.              Listen to employees

Listening to employees has a good chance to minimize change resistance because it shows that their thoughts are valued.

3.              Educate employees on the value of change

The author of this article believes that this is the most important thing when it comes to managing change resistance because the author has personally experienced that many companies explain why the change is needed but it is not fully conveyed to the employees that it is a major part of organization’s growth and what values that it brings towards employees.

Organizations change in response to changes in the environment and in response to the way decision-makers interpret these changes. When it comes to organizational change, one of the biggest obstacles is resistance to change. People resist change because change disrupts behaviours, and habits, conflicts with certain personality types, causes a fear of failure, can have potentially negative impacts, can result in a potential for loss of power, and, when done too frequently, can exhaust employees. Change effort can be conceptualized as a three-step process in which employees are first prepared for change, then change is implemented, and finally, the new behavioural patterns become permanent.

References

Lawrence, P.R. (1969) “How to deal with resistance to change,” Harvard Business Review, January.

Sharma, K. (2019) “5 common causes of resistance to change in organizations,” Whatfix, 19 November. Available at: https://whatfix.com/blog/causes-of-resistance-to-change/#:~:text=Organizational%20resistance%20is%20the%20tendency,or%20internal%20demands%20for%20change. (Accessed: November 10, 2022).

Spring, K. (2021) “Overcoming resistance to change within your organization,” Betterup.com, 27 October. Available at: https://www.betterup.com/blog/resistance-to-change (Accessed: November 10, 2022). 

Comments

  1. Afzal Farook4 December 2022 at 21:55

    A great blog article Wasana, I would like to add to your content that according to Harvey and Broyles (2010), it is important for organizational leaders to effectively plan for and manage change by believing that change can be managed, recognizing resistance, and acknowledging change is all about possibility (Harvey and Broyles, 2010). Therefore, the approach of leadership plays a vital role. Leadership needs to highlight the importance of potential benefits for employees and the organization through change and eliminate fear factors of change.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wasana Perera6 December 2022 at 05:36

      That's an interesting point Afzal. I'd totally agree with your comment. The management does need to be on top of their communication skills. During times of change, leaders must be accountable for what is working and what isn’t working. Being accountable fosters a desire and commitment to fix problems to yield the best results. To be truly accountable means you are willing to let others see behind the curtain to candidly assess how things are going. As you do this, your team will embrace a similar, no-blame openness to performance. Accountable leaders look at all aspects of the organization—culture, processes, management, and employees—to ensure all are functioning optimally. If they are not, a good change management leader must be willing to admit the gaps or misalignments and take actions to address shortcomings (Tomasulo et al., 2021).

      Delete
  2. Wasana Perera5 December 2022 at 10:25

    That's an interesting point Afzal. I'd totally agree with your comment. The management does need to be on top of their communication skills. During times of change, leaders must be accountable for what is working and what isn’t working. Being accountable fosters a desire and commitment to fix problems to yield the best results. To be truly accountable means you are willing to let others see behind the curtain to candidly assess how things are going. As you do this, your team will embrace a similar, no-blame openness to performance. Accountable leaders look at all aspects of the organization—culture, processes, management, and employees—to ensure all are functioning optimally. If they are not, a good change management leader must be willing to admit the gaps or misalignments and take actions to address shortcomings (Tomasulo et al., 2021).

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ann-Danushika7 December 2022 at 04:25

    Hi Wasana, Very interesting article. Further, employees do not move with some changes, that individuals feel threatened that they do not have the necessary skills to be able to perform in their new role, Change acceptance and implementation within the organization can be significantly impacted by the level of resistance to change, Organizations and the individuals who work there must be ready for a change in business if it is to thrive(Federico, 2014).

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    Replies
    1. Wasana Perera7 December 2022 at 07:44

      Hi Ann, Thank you for the comment. I totally agree with this specific part that individuals do feel threatened that they do not have the necessary skills to be perform in their new role. This is actually highly subjective to the person. I think as we work in the cooperate environment we also should have the right mindset to learn new skills.

      Delete
  4. Onita Jayawardena8 December 2022 at 05:37

    Agreed. Change can be accepted by the majority, however, resistance to change is unavoidable. According to Burnes (2004), employees resist change mainly due to fear that the change will contradict their personal interests.

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    1. Wasana Perera14 December 2022 at 05:37

      Thanks Onita, It also can be hard for both employees and employers but with some planning and anticipation, it can be effectively managed (Spring, 2021).

      Delete
  5. Nirosha Delgahagoda10 December 2022 at 05:17

    Interesting Blog post. Further, Change is defined as a process that changes the direction of history or development and can influence the system or functionality of an organization (Abraham, 2000).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wasana Perera14 December 2022 at 05:39

      Thanks Nirosha, yes, Kealy Spring says that it is not a bad thing and for organizational growth change change is compulsory (Spring, 2021).

      Delete
  6. Nelushan Gunewardena10 December 2022 at 06:54

    A timely and rather relevant topic Wasana. Furthermore, according to a study carried out by del Val & Fuentes (2003), the source of resistance identified as most powerful for any type of change is dealing with the existence of deep-rooted values within an organisation. In addition, having different interests among employees and management, communication barriers, organizational silence, and capabilities gaps were identified as the other top-ranking overall resistance factors to organisational change.

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    1. Wasana Perera14 December 2022 at 05:49

      Thanks Nelushan, I went through this study when I was writing this article. It is evident that when employees are poorly introduced to changes that affects how they work (Heathfield, 2021). Especially, when they don't see the need for the change there is a high chance that they resist.

      Delete
  7. Dulakshi Perera10 December 2022 at 12:03

    Change is very important to survive and grow. interesting topic Wasana.
    Many authors (Lawrence, 1954; Maurer, 1996; Strebel, 1994; Waddell and Sohal, 1998; among others) stress that the reasons for the failure of many change initiatives can be found in resistance to change. Resistance to change introduces costs and delays into the change process (Ansoff, 1990) that are difficult to anticipate (Lorenzo, 2000)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wasana Perera14 December 2022 at 05:50

      Thanks Dulakshi, Furthermore, Resistance to change can intensify if employees feel they have been involved in a series of changes that have had insufficient support to gain the anticipated results ((Heathfield, 2021).

      Delete
  8. Safiya Ameen12 December 2022 at 21:00

    Although researchers and theorists are currently writing about resistance to change
    as a systems concept, some are expanding the notion of a system beyond anything
    Lewin ever described. For Lewin, a system was homeostatic. The dominant feedback
    loops were negative or compensating, always pushing the system back to equilibrium.
    Complexity science researchers have highlighted the significance of nonlinear, mutually causal (Dent, 1997) systems in which positive or amplifying feedback loops drive
    the system. Goldstein (1994) contends that organizations are such nonlinear systems
    that, by definition, they will seek out change when in far-from-equilibrium conditions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wasana Perera14 December 2022 at 05:51

      Thank you Safiya, I think Kurt Lewin explains the change in a more conceptual way. Whatever causes the resistance to change can be a big threat to the success of your business and can affect the speed at which your organization adopts an innovation.

      Delete

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