Introduction
Every organization will go through a change cycle due to demands of external pressure or
internal pressure. Organizational change is the transitioning of an organization from its current state
towards a desired future state (Palmer, Dunfin & Akin, 2006). Any type of organizational change
will involve changes to individual's roles and responsibilities and its natural that people will resist
when they feel threatened by these changes. Resistance to change is the unwillingness or an inability
to accept changes that is perceived to be threatening to an individual (Buchanan & Huczynski,
2010). Factors influencing an individual's resistance to change can be associated with psychological
factors like breach of psychological contract, to various other combination of psychological barriers,
contextual barriers and sociological barriers.
Psychological contract
In a workplace environment, where certainty and stability exists to an employees obligations
towards set of tasks and responsibilities, change becomes more difficult to introduce and accept as it
creates a disturbance of an employer's implied pact with the employers (Strebel,1996). This implied
pact is the psychological contract that the employees have with their employer. According to Warr
(2002), a psychological contract can be defined as the implicit relationship between employer and
employee based on mutual beliefs, expectation and informal obligation towards each other. It is the
mutual expectations of inputs and outcomes from the viewpoint of employees formed out of job
description, workplace values and social dimensions. This psychological contract influences
employees behavior and attitudes towards the employer. Employee's trust, commitment,
enthusiasm, and job satisfaction depend on a fair and balanced psychological contract. A Change
will alter these terms as it immediately creates a new relationship comprising of uncertainty between
employees and employers. When the contract is regarded by employees to be broken, they lose the
psychological equilibrium that they value and human inertia makes people cling to certainty and
stability (Conner, 1998).
Psychological Barriers
People like safety, comfort and feeling of control in their work environment. When they feel
their security is threatened due to change, psychological barriers will prevent them from accepting
change. Some of the common psychological barriers that creates an individual's resistance to change
are ;
- Uncertainty
When details about why and how change is being implemented is not clear, it creates
uncertainty among individuals and change will be resisted.
- Confidence
A lack of confidence in individuals that they have necessary skills to be able to perform in their
new role and their ability to adapt to their new role will create a resistance of change.
- Anxiety
Uncertainty and low confidence will create anxiety and stress in people. It is natural for
individual to reduce the source of this anxiety by resisting change.
- Fear
An individual's reaction to fear is either to fight or flee. Fear of unknown will create resistance
to change and some employees will just leave.
- Personality
Some people will be naturally resistant to change due to their personality. Personality
characteristics determine how an individual behaves when faced with an organization change.
Some have certain personality traits that have low tolerance to change irrespective of whether
the change is positive and beneficial. An individual's openness to change can be predicted by
personality traits like self-esteem, risk tolerance, need for achievement and locus of control
(Oreg , 2006). Personality types who typically value independence, stability, order and
consistency like to things to stay the same as it can be a source of comfort and security.
Contextual Barriers
According to Oreg (2006),variables in an organizational context can be factors that prevents
employees from accepting change. The three common types of contextual barriers to employee
change acceptance that were suggested by number of studies and cited by Oreg (2006) are;
- Power and Prestige
Organizational change is likely to involve changes to employees roles and position. Threats to
power and relinquishment of power can create resistance to change. Organizational change can
make some employees get more powerful roles, whilst others might lose the power they once
had.
- Job Security
When employees fear losing their jobs due to change, they will resist it. Employee's resistance
to change is found to have significant correlation to the threat to job security (Oreg 2006).
• Intrinsic rewards
Organizational changes can involve changes to tasks and responsibilities causing a perceived
threat to intrinsic rewards like autonomy, challenge and self-determination. An employee's
ability to satisfy these intrinsic needs influence employees their attitude and behavior towards
change (Oreg, 2006).
Sociological Barriers
Resistance to change is usually by individuals, but the nature of the organization and their
surrounding environment can also influence an individual to resist change.
- Group Norms and Values
Groups form strong norms that govern their behavior with each other. Change alters role and
relationships within a group and may force them to stay together and fight to keep the status
quo. If there is conflict between the change values and group values, resistance and opposition
to change will appear due to beliefs, loyalty and peer pressure.
- Group Conformity
An individual's need to feel socially accepted by their group can create affective resistance.
When an individual is surrounded by group members who oppose change, they tend to develop
negative emotions to change even when they may not fully agree with a group’s resistance to
change (Oreg, 2006). If the group is highly cohesive, even reasonable changes will be met by
resistance.
An individual's barriers to change are exclusive to that individual. These factors that causes
resistance can not only vary from an individual level, but also to an organizational level and to the
extent of change itself. This makes it difficult to pinpoint the exact causes of individual's resistance
to organizational change. Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) provided the four most common causes for
resisting change. All of these causes essentially fall under the individual's psychological, sociological
and contextual barriers which was described before. According to Kotter and Schlesinger (1979), the
four basic causes of individual resistance to change are;
- Parochial self-interest
According to Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) this is one of the main reason why people resist
change as they think they will lose something of personal value due to implications of change.
People are self-serving and mainly focussed by their needs. They are concerned with the effect
of change will have on themselves and their own interests. If they feel that change will not
benefit them they will resist the changes. People also worry that the change will make them
fail or show their incompetencies due to the perception that they lack skills to perform change
and fear losing their job.
- Contradictory Assessments
This type of resistance occurs when people feel the change is not necessary or that there are
better solutions than the proposed change and sometime they may outright disagree with the
reason behind the change. This occurs when people assess the rationale for change differently
than the organizational management or the change initiator.
- Misunderstanding and Lack of trust
People may not fully understand the needs for the change due to lack of communication. When
their questions are unanswered, it creates a sense of fear, stress and mistrust which leads to
resistance.
- Low tolerance for change
People have varying limitation to accepting and adapting to change due to their individual
attitudes and behavior. Some adapt to change quickly, whilst others can take a long time to
accept change. Sometimes people with low level of confidence will likely take more time to
accept change as they fear that they do not have skills required to take on the new
responsibilities needed by the change.
Resistance is an inevitable response to any change as individuals initial reaction is to defend
the status quo when they feel their security is threatened. People do not resist change, they infact
resist the potential outcomes that change can cause to them based on their perception (Palmer,
Dunford & Akin, 2006). The keyword here is “perception”. Perception is what an individual thinks
about the change, i.e their assessment, judgement and rational view of the change. This perception
influences employee's behavior in facing the change. The resistance to change can have significant
effect on whether or not change gets accepted and implemented by organization. If an organizational
change is to succeed then organization and the people who work in them must be readied for change
transformation.
Managing resistance to change;
and Hede, 2001). Change can affect people differently. People need time to adjust and adapt to new
behavioral and routines. Therefore it is important for managers to work with the human factors
associated with resistance. To diagnose the cause of resistance it is necessary to understand the
individual (Kotter and Schlesinger,1979).
Managing the resistance to change is the most difficult stage in the change process (Bovey &
Hede, 2001). According to Lewin's three stage change model, a change process will follow stages of
“Unfreezing” , “Change” and “Refreezing” (Palmer, Dunford & Akin, 2006). The first step of
unfreezing, is where the resistance to change is removed and readiness to change is created. The
second step is where the change process is implemented and the last step of “refreeze” is reenforcing
the new behaviors . For the organizational change to be successful it is vital that change gets
accepted by individuals first . To "unfreeze" the resistance to change in people, resistance must be
overcome by the acceptance to change. This process of overcoming resistance change is carried out
first during “unfreeze” stage in a change process. We will not discuss the the last two stages of
“Change” and “refreezing” in this essay.
There are lots of research done on how to manage individual's resistance to change and quite
a few change theories and models are used by organization. However it is important to understand
the there is no single change theory or model that will work in all situations, nor all the situation in
an organizational change are same. Which model would be appropriate depends on the type and
scale of change being undertaken. In this essay we will focus on approaches of “Re-establishing
psychological contract”, Scott & Jaffe's “Resistance Cycle” and Kotter & Schlesinger's “classic six
methods” as I believe that these three approaches highlights some key elements required to manage
and overcome resistance in any organizational change situation.
Re-establishing Psychological Contract;
Managers need to initiate the process of re-establishing the psychological contract with
employees through mutual trust and respect. During the organizational change initiation phase, it is
very easy for managers to underestimate the gap in employee's commitments and organization's
expectations towards the change. Managers must view the resistance from the employee's
perspective to understand the implicit terms which employees hold and revise these terms to remove
the gap. Unrevised terms will continue to resist change, thus revision of these old terms to align with
the change initiative is necessary. Organizations change strategy will not be successful unless this
revision of employee personal terms is tackled first (Strebel, 1996). Managers must make employees
understand the purpose and rationale behind the change initiative and make them understand the
consequences to the organization if the change objectives are not met. By making employees view
the change initiatives from the perspective of the organizational strategy, will alter the terms of
employees obligations and managers can re-establish the psychological contract and secure
commitments based on these revised terms that aligns with organizational strategy.
Resistance Cycle;
According to Scott and Jaffe's model of resistance cycle people go through four phases of
response to change, i.e., denial, resistance, exploration, and commitment (Palmer, Dunford & Akin,
2006). Each phase corresponds to specific behaviors and emotions of individuals facing change.
Denial and resistance phases are characterized by negative emotions like fear and threat, whilst the
phases of exploration and commitment are characterized by positive emotions like hopefulness. It is
critical that managers should be aware of these four phases as it requires different approaches to
address each individual depending on which stage in the resistance cycle those individuals are in.
• Denial results from insufficient knowledge related to change. It occurs when individuals believe
the change will have little, or no impact on them personally. Denial can be overcome by
involving individuals in the change process, providing them information about the change, and
have an open communication with individuals about their perceptions toward change. Managers
should make individuals understand their role in change and how it will affect them personally. .
Denial stage is characterized by calm and quietness among employees and managers should not
mistake this quietness of individuals who are in the denial phase as a “positive” emotion of
being “committed.”
• Resistance stage occurs when individuals begin to doubt the appropriateness of the change as a
result of contradictory assessments, misunderstanding or lack of trust. During this stage
managers should listen and acknowledge the feelings of resisters. Managers
should be engaging the resisting individuals in an open two-way communication that enables
managers to address their concerns, build and earn employee trust, and take corrective actions.
• Exploration phase reflects progress away from the resistance and towards acceptance of the
change. In this phase, individuals have accepted the reality of change and are seeking positive
outcomes from change. During this phase, employees are looking for opportunities and personal
self-interests. Managers should continue to motivate and encourage individuals during this
stage with communications, provide training and short term goals to focus on priorities and
move closer to commitment.
• Acceptance phase is characterized by individuals demonstrating their commitment to change.
During this stage managers should use milestone celebrations, rewards and team building to
motivate individuals to solidify change in their work and re-establish the psychological
contract.
Kotter and Schelesinger's Six Methods;
Kotter and Schelesinger (1979) proposed six strategies to address the source of the resistance to the
change. According to this approach the following six methods can be used to manage resistance to
change;
- Education and Communication
Education and communication is the simplest way to overcome resistance to change as it not
only allows employees to understand the need and reason for change but also reduces
uncertainty (Bolognese, 2002). Once employees are persuaded, they will likely help with
implementing change, than to resist the change (Kotter & Schlesinger, 1979). Education will
avoid employees getting stuck in the denial phase of the resistance cycle for a long time and
helps employees to adopt new roles quickly. Training on new knowledge and skills specific to
change reduces fear of unknown whilst increasing a person's confidence with changes to
attitude and behaviours (Warr, 2002). Open communication that answers questions and
encourages feedback will eliminate employee mistrust about an organizational change, and also
promotes positive effects of change making them feel more involved with the change initiatives.
Open communication between management and employees is known to reduce stress levels
among employees (Warr, 2002).
- Participation
According to Bove and Hede (2002), it is hard for an individual to resist a change decision in
which they participated. People who participate will be well informed and committed to
implementing change (Kotter & Schlesinger, 1979). Employee participation during the change
process creates a psychological ownership of decisions and accountability for their success.
Individuals who are allowed to contribute in change planning process will not have any mistrust
about the change and in fact are more committed to its success (Sims, 2002).
- Facilitation and support
Change affects employees roles and routines, so managers support is essential to maintain a
certain level of comfort for the individuals affected and get them adjusted to the new role.
Facilitating and providing a forum for employees to share their concerns reduces fear and
anxiety which is one of the cause of resistance (Bolognese, 2002).Support activities like
counseling, stress management classes and even offering emotional support like listening or
empathizing will make an employee feel valued and encourage them in coping with change.
- Negotiation and Agreement
During some circumstances, change will have an inevitable adverse effect on some individuals.
Negotiation is suitable when an individual will suffer loss due to the change (Bolognese, 2002).
Managers will have to recognize the negative effects of change and must negotiate with
employees on their specific concerns of resistance and provide incentives to them in exchange
for acceptance of change. Sometimes this can be the easiest way to avoid resistance (Kotter &
Schlesinger, 1979).
- Manipulation and co-optation
Manipulation involves intentionally using selective information or skewing information in an
attempt to influence individuals to accept change . Co-optation is about getting acceptance from
employees by using tactics like appointing an individual to an important position to gain
acceptance. This can be the quick way to avoid resistance but can be dangerous in the future
once individuals become aware that they were manipulated (Kotter & Schlesinger, 1979).
- Coercion
When participative or motivation approach does not work, then managers have to use force or
threat to overcome resistance. Coercion includes using explicit or implicit threats like job loss,
promotion denial, bonus,etc. Sometimes coercion may be the only available option available to
managers, but with this approach managers need to take into consideration that individuals are
likely to develop resentment which might have long term negative effect on the organization.
(Kotter & Schlesinger, 1979).
Leadership in Change management ;
Kotter's six-method and Scott & Jeffe's approaches only provides strategic frameword to
manage resistance. To successfully carry out these strategies leadership is a key tool. Change is
dependent on the vision which can communicate the directions towards the change to the
organization (Warr, 2002). Leadership provides a vision for change that can influence, direct and
motivate people to take action and at the same time will reduce fear, uncertainty and improve
employee morale. An effective leadership has been shown as necessary to overcome the high levels
of uncertainty that accompanies change (Bass 1990).
When an organization goes through a change process, using the most effective leadership
style can directly impact the success of the change. There are many leadership styles like
participative, collaborative, coercive,democratic or authoritative. According to study conducted by
Oreg & Berson (2011), transformational leadership style is best suited to override employees’
resistance to change. Transformational leadership is a process of transforming the organizational
behavior and performance by influencing followers to share the leader’s vision and enable them to
enact beyond their specified responsibilities (Buchanan & Huczynski, 2010, p.618).
Some of the key behaviors of a transformational leader that can overcome individual's
resistance to change are;
• Transformational leaders can influence followers’ perceptions of change by providing a
common vision and making them see change as an opportunity rather than threat.
Transformational leaders participative style of management will allow people to accept change
and apply self-direction towards the change objectives without the feeling of threats. This style
is tied to McGregor's “Theory Y” of motivation, which produces better performance and
overcoming resistance (Buchnanan & Hucisky, 2008 .p250) .
• Transformational leader has the ability to inspire and align the follower's interests to that of
organization’s vision by using intrinsic motivators like empowerment, support, encouragement
and recognition. Intrinsic rewards has an influence on employee motivation and strongly tied to
higher performance than compared to extrinsic rewards (Buchnanan & Hucisky, 2008
.p280).Focussing on a common vision will have a lessening effect of individual personality and
when employees feel motivated and empowered, they are less resistant to changes.
• By paying attention to follower's own needs and interests and by respecting their followers,
transformational leadership promotes a trusting relationship between the leaders and the
followers. Therefore, the psychological contract is established leading to higher job satisfaction
and lower levels of stress among followers .
The results of study conducted by Seo et al, (2012) also show that transformational
leadership behaviors has a positive effect among employee behaviors relating to less resistant and
greater commitment to organizational change. However, it is important to consider that an effective
leader must be flexible to use a range of leadership styles when situation demands to enhance the
management of the change. For example, when coercion is the only available option left to
overcome resistance to change, then a leader should be able to adapt to a coercive leadership style.
Conclusion & Recommendation;
Change will always affect organization and change in an organization will always affect
people. Resistance to change is an inevitable psychological response that occurs in an individual.
Therefore resistance to change by people in an organization should be treated as normal reaction.
Sources of resistance are mainly individual psychological factors which creates psychological,
contextual and sociological barriers to accept change. With more significant the change, greater the
influence of these psychological factors have on an individual's resistance to change.
For an organizational change to succeed, the people who work in the organization must
accept change by overcoming their the sources of resistance. Therefore it is crucial for managers to
overcome the resistance by considering human factors and identifying the source of resistance
among employees. There are plenty of framework and strategies available for managers and
organization to use that can put employees at ease during change process and make them accept
change faster. Most of these change frameworks revolve around active participation, communication
and training as underlying motivational factors for overcoming individual resistance. Open
communication with employees and their active participation during change process is important for
overcoming resistance as they remove confusion and mistrust among employees and employers .
Education and training not only reduces the uncertainty and fear about the future implications of
change, but also a key motivator to implement change itself. Leadership is a key tool to manage the
resistance to change as it provides the vision and the rationale for change . Many studies have
identified transformational leadership style as most appropriate to effectively manage change
resistance.
To successfully overcome resistance, organization should be able to identify the likely
resisters, the reasons for their resistance and make informed decisions to overcome the resistance by
using effective leadership and combination of strategies or approaches outlined in this essay.
Reference ;
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