Organizational change is inevitable. It means that the organization is changing its growth tactics for better success. In other words, the primary goal of an organizational change is to enable the organization to maintain its status or proceed to a higher level (Okraku, 2017). Among the reasons that influence organizational change are resolving a crisis and identifying new opportunities while adapting to technological advancement. While organizational change is meant for the good of the company, it is always difficult to process it since people tend to resist it. The common reasons people resist it are the fear of the unknown, self-interests, and lack of trust.
Notably, the fear of the unknown refers to how fear things or places that they are unfamiliar with. People have led a certain way of life for a long time, becoming their norm. They even condition their behaviors or lifestyles to fit their norm (Kanter, 2012). Therefore, the slightest change will result in a total disruption of their normalcy, causing them to feel displaced and uncomfortable. In an organizational setting, people adopt a particular way of doing things. Hence, they are unlikely to welcome change because they will adopt new trends they are unfamiliar with. For example, consider a company where employees are used to doing office jobs. The management introduces a new marketing strategy that involves employees going to the field to interact with clients directly to boost sales. In this case, the employees might resist this new strategy because it deviates from what they are used to. It is worth noting that fear of the unknown is mostly associated with low tolerance to change (Kanter, 2012). People with low tolerance to change are not emotionally strong to handle transitioning effects, which is why they resist change.
Even though humans are social, they are selfish beings. They like partaking in courses that benefit their self-interests. Well, people are likely to resist organizational change to guard their self-interests. It is critical to note that people connect with cultures or life patterns that fulfill them in one way or another. This aspect means that people will embrace culture if the (cultures) are valuable to them. People who resist change to protect their self-interests are more likely be experiencing the fear of the unknown (Kanter, 2012). They are afraid that the new trend will cause them to lose something they value. A merger s the best example to demonstrate this aspect. Consider a situation where a company is on the verge of shutting down due to bankruptcy. The owner decides to merge it with another stabler company to save it. In this case, the management of the “savior” company will be more powerful. Thus, the managers of the sinking company are more likely to resist the merger because they fear losing their power and positions.
Lastly, people resist change because they do not trust it. They feel that the changes do not intend to support their well-being. Hence, they consider any newness a threat to an already perfect life they think they have (Kanter, 2012). One reason people do not trust change is a lack of information. People must know why the organizational change is happening and how it will happen. Sharing vital information during an organizational change portrays goodwill that helps people to trust and embrace the changes easily.
While resistance to organizational change can be frustrating to change agents, they should view it positively. They should view resistance as the workers’ way of expressing that the changes suggested are not perfect (Okraku, 2017). This way, the change agents will impose revised changes while considering employee satisfaction. For instance, the change agents can interact with the people to know the problem and find employee-friendly solutions.
References
Kanter, M. R. (2012, September 26). Ten reasons people resist change. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2012/09/ten-reasons-people-resist-chang
Okraku, T. (2017, April 1). Why do organizations resist change? Suggestions for overcoming resistance ti change. Medium. https://medium.com/@thereseokraku/why-do-organizations-resist-change-tips-for-overcoming-resistance-to-change-b7fe5e77ded1#:~:text=Organizations%20often%20resist%20change%20because%20they%20are%20composed,major%20role%20in%20an%20individual%E2%80%99s%20resistance%20to%20change.
