Change is inevitable. When change strikes, it disrupts the human routine and humans hate this. Very few people embrace change mostly due to differing external and internal factors. Humans always seem to hang on to something instead of changing and moving on. Though change might bring in efficiency in an organization, employees might not embrace it since they do not want to disrupt their comfort zone. A good example is the introduction of computers. When computers came, many employees did not embrace them at first since they were required to learn how to use them. They viewed the learning about computers as a disruption of their daily routine.

The resistance to change can be contributed by external factors or internal factors. Internal factors are factors inside the organization while external factors are factors not related to the organization. The ability of an organization to embrace change determines its longevity. The management in organizations must embrace the concept of change. Change comes from many directions including environmental, economic, social and political forces.  With the current technologies being experienced in this century, organizations have to make changes now and then and if employees do not embrace such changes, it will affect the functionality of the organization.

Self-interest

Self-interest is a major reason why employees resist change. People get so comfortable with their current situation such that when a change comes, they fear that it may change their vested personal interests. A good example is a structural change. Structural change in an organization involves reorganizing the organization by dismissing, replacing and adding personnel. In this kind of a situation, employees will fear losing their existing positions.  In addition, consider a technological change. If an organization introduces a machine that will be efficient than humans, this will mean that the employees will have to be replaced by the machine. It is normal for employees to consider their interests and not the interests of the organization.

Individual s seem to consider their well being first before considering the well being of other people. Individuals always strive to maintain the status quo so that they can advance their stake.  In the end, an organization will have to embrace change to remain relevant in the ever-changing market but individuals with vested interest will always resist any change.

Lack of understanding

Lack of understanding is another factor that causes a resistance to change. Individuals have different understanding capabilities. Different people can interpret a very simple statement differently. When individuals understand that, a change will cost them more than they will gain, a resistance to that change is expected.

My uncle is a production manager in a shoe factory. The factory owner announced to the managers that there would be an introduction of flexible 5 days work for all employees. The managers had discussed this in an earlier meeting and so did not resist. After circulating the information to the employees, there was some resistance from some employees in all departments. Most of the employees resisting the change understood that they would have to work extra hours in the morning or evening. Their misunderstanding led to their resistance.

Lack of understanding is an internal factor. If the employees and the management do not understand each other, this is bound to be some resistance to change. In this kind of situation, coming into an understanding and embracing the impacts of the change will help in overcoming the resistance. If all the employees embrace the change, then the plan has worked. It is important to understand that some employees can give in to the change but have not really embraced it. Such employees should monitor closely.

Lack of trust in management

The trust of employees includes questions of sincerity, credibility, and reliability. When employees are faced with change, they will have to deal with issues such as loss of status and the fear of the unknown.  As Kotter and Schlesinger (1997) stipulates, only a few organizations maintain trust between employees and the management. In such a case, it is extremely easy for the employees to resist any changes introduced by the management. Employees will understand the change as an exploitation or misuse. It is hard to make someone understand you when they do not trust you. Trust is important in the running of an organization. When the employees cannot trust the key decision makers, it becomes difficult for them to accept any changes in the organization. They will attribute the change to some negative reason.

Lack of trust in management is an internal factor. Trust between the employees and the management is an issue that can only be solved by the two parties involved internally. Use of negotiations and agreements can go a long way in solving this kind of resistance.

Differing assessments of the need for change

Another major reason why employees resist change is the differing assessment s of the benefits and costs of the change. This is mostly caused by poor communication and insufficient information leading to differing assessments. However, such a resistance can lead to criticism and improved proposal to achieve even a better outcome given that people have different knowledge and perceptions.

The members of a design team who made a cost effective engineering of structural column shocked my friend, a project director in a construction company. Although this cost effective engineering could achieve the design requirements and save cost, he thought that it could also damage the reputation of the company. In this regard, he did not submit the design proposal to the company owner. He however reorganised the design team immediately and this attracted some resistance. In the end, the company ended up losing three good designers, which crippled the team.

My friend as the director should have respected the knowledge of the team members and allow them to hand in the proposal instead of reorganising them. His differing assessment of the cost-effective design led to the loss of experienced team members.
Low tolerance for change

Individuals respond to uncertainty and change differently as suggested by Buchanan and Huczynski (2010). Some people are ready to accept change than others. Other individuals may have a low tolerance to changes since they have different capabilities compared to others. Drucker (2010) argues that the managers are a main obstacle for the growth of an organization since they do not change their behaviour and attitude towards the organizational needs. Due to an individual’s limited tolerance to change, there is opposition to potential changes that can be positive. An engineer in my uncle’s construction company received a considerable promotion due to company’s growth. The new position required a new set of skills, loss of some satisfactory current situation as well as new relationships. This made the engineer uneasy and he did not want to give up. His tolerance for change was low and he ended up declining the promotion.

Low tolerance to change is an external factor. It is a personal factor, which the organization has nothing to do about. This kind of resistance can be overcome by education and communication. If the ideas and opposing views are well communicated to a low tolerant person, the individual can better understand the impacts of the change and accept it.

As stipulated by different scholars, change resistance can be as result of different factors. Whether the change is positive or negative, a kind of resistance will always arise mainly due to misunderstandings and mistrust. When some changes occur, they cannot be reversible. In addition, for growth and development to occur, change must be there. Organizations must overcome resistance to change for longevity of the organization. Resistance can be overcome by education, communication, participation, involvement, facilitation, support, negotiation, agreement, and manipulation.

Change cannot be overcome rather it can only be embraced. Fear of the uncertain is the major reason why people resist change. Individuals do not want to leave their comfort zone to an unknown place. Employees tend to get very comfortable in their current position to an extent they do not embrace a change that affects them positively like promotion mainly due to low tolerance and misunderstandings. Maintaining a good relationship between the management and the employees is a good start in curbing resistance to change. When the management and the employees trust each other, introduction of any change will be understood positively.

References

Baack, D. (2012).  Organizational Behavior.  San Diego. CA: Bridgepoint Ed. Inc

Buchanan, D. A., & Huczynski, A. A. (2010). Organizational behaviour (p. 794). Pearson education.

Drucker, P. F. (2010). The frontiers of management. Harvard Business Press.

Henry, P. K. (1997). Overcoming resistance to organizational change. Journal of the American dietetic association, 97(10), S145-S147.

 
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