Change: Managing Resistance

Participants in the 2015 study identified five primary reasons employees resist change:

1. Lack of awareness
   This lack of awareness was caused by failure to communicate details of a change to employees.  Employees resist more when they do not know the answer to the question, "what's in it for me," (WIIFM).  Employees who lacked awareness reported that it was due to getting mixed message or the manager was uninformed.
   
2. Change specific resistance
   If there is an increase in workload if the change involves added process steps, changes to job roles and deployment of technology. Other notable sources include lack of involvement by employees, lack of incentives and increases to accountability.  Other time, resistance increased simply because staff did not like the change or did not agree with the solution that was deployed.
   
3. Resistance due to change saturation
   If there are an overwhelming number of current changes, along with previous failures during project implementation, the likelihood of change resistance among frontline employee increases.
   
4. Fear
   The fear can range widely, but employees may fear job loss, fear of the future and lf losing power, status, influence or compensation.
   
5. Lack of support from management or leadership
   Managers and direct supervisors impact resistance. If leadership does not provide a good role model, or direct supervisors are resisting the change, then resistance grows.  Lack of trust in the executive leadership by employees create resistance to change, citing "flavour of the month" projects as being disconnected with the needs of employees and the organization. 

It is also noted that some changes cause resistance simply because something is changing. Comfort with the status quo is frequently cited as a contributing factor to resistance. 

Next: the primary reasons Managers resist change.