The most baffling and intractable problem which business executives face is employee resistance to change. Such resistance may take a number of forms—persistent reduction in output, increase in the number of “quits” , delaying change, inertia to disruption, or to be outright rebellions. The best tool for implementing change is to understand the predictable, universal sources of resistance in each situation and then maneuver around them.
Below are the five reasons why people resist change:
Loss of Autonomic Control
Change will interfere in the autonomy and can also make employees feel that they’ve lost control over their territory. It’s not just about who has the power. Their sense of self-determination is often the first thing to go when faced with a potential change coming from someone else. Smart Organizations should leave room for those affected by change to make choices. They invite others into the planning, giving them ownership.
Fear of Excess ambiguity
If change feels like something unwarranted along with uncertain outcomes, then employees will reject it. People will often avoid heading towards an unknown situation. It is evident that in many organizations, people tend to stay in the existing state of reality and to overcome this inertia requires a sense of safety as well as an inspiring vision. So creating a certainty of process, with clear, simple steps and timetables is indispensible.
Out of the blue Revelation!
Decisions imposed on people suddenly, are generally resisted and tend to be a blocker. Saying No is more evident and easy answer rather than embracing the change by saying yes. Organizations should avoid the temptation to craft changes in secret and then announce them all at once. It is better to give hints about the upcoming developments instead of giving a sudden jolt.
Feeling Incompetent?
Change is resisted by people, because the most common question which arises is ‘Am I competent enough to do it?’ Employees might express skepticism about whether the newly deployed method or standard will turn out to be fruitful version or not. So organizations should invest in structural reassurance and provide abundant information, education, training, mentors, and support systems. This will enable smooth transition towards new methodology.
The undulated effects
The ripples created by introducing change may disrupt functioning of other departments, important customers, people well outside the project, and they start to push back, rebelling against changes they had nothing to do with that interfere with their own activities. All affected parties must be considered, however distant, and also it is imperative to work harmoniously with them to minimize disruption.
Although, necessarily it cannot be guaranteed whether the change will be accepted or not, but organizations can work towards minimizing the discomfort. Also take steps to diagnose the problem so that a palpable solution can be designed based on the feedback obtained from resistors.