Resistance to change is the act of opposing or struggling with modifications or transformations that alter the status quo. This resistance can manifest itself in one employee, or in the workplace as a whole.
Resistance to change is the unwillingness to adapt to altered circumstances. It can be covert or overt, organized, or individual. Employees may realize they don’t like or want a change and resist publicly, and that can be very disruptive.
Employees can also feel uncomfortable with the changes introduced and resist, sometimes unknowingly, through their actions, their language, and in the stories and conversations they share in the workplace.
In a worst-case scenario, employees can be forceful in their refusal to adopt any changes, bringing confrontation and conflict to your organization.
Resistance to change is evident in actions such as
- Criticism
- Nitpicking
- Snide comments or sarcastic remarks
- Missed meetings
- Failed commitments
- Endless arguments
- Sabotage
Why Resistance Occurs
Change creates anxiety and fear. The current state has tremendous holding power, and the uncertainty of success and fear of the unknown can block change and create resistance. These physical and emotional reactions are powerful enough by themselves to create resistance to change. But there is more to resistance than our emotional response. From a change management perspective, we must examine the other drivers that influence an employee’s resistance to change.
Other influencers include:
- The impact on their work
- The trustworthiness of people communicating the change
- Personal factors, including finances, age, health, mobility and family status
- The change’s alignment with their value system
- The organization’s history of handling change
Manage Resistance at Work
Approaches such as discounting resistance, denying it exists, or trying to beat it down, ironically only serve to worsen the situation. Following helps to manage resistance
- “De Personalize” the Resistance – Do not take resistance to a change personally. It is not about YOU.
- Surface Resistance Early – Start looking for resistance to a change as soon as the project begins. Use tactics such as focus groups, social media, team meetings and hot lines to begin surfacing resistance as early as possible.
- Explain the Change from the Target’s Frame of Reference – What is a small change in the eyes of one person may be very big from another’s perspective. Make sure you are communicating from each Targets’ Frame of Reference, and that you answer the two “me” questions: “What is in it for me?” and “What does it mean to me?”
- Communicate – Every communication sent during any implementation must include a feedback loop in order to allow individuals to express their thoughts and feelings about the change. This is a great way for Change Agents to gather information about potential sources of resistance.
- Use Involvement Techniques – It may not be appropriate to involve people in deciding what to change, but you can almost always get them involved in how to implement it in their daily work.
- Make Surfacing Resistance Safe – When you are looking to bring covert resistance out in the open, don’t punish individuals for expressing their resistance.
- Invest in Readiness – Readiness and Resistance are two sides of the same coin. If you invest in readiness by giving Targets information, motivation, ability and confidence you will see less resistance while the change takes place.
- Prepare for Resistance to Come Back – Even if you successfully manage resistance once, trust us it will come back. Managing resistance is definitely not a one time, check the box that you are done event. As a project evolves, so does the resistance to it which is why managing resistance must be an ongoing activity throughout a project’s life cycle.