Identifying employee resistance to change

Change is one of the activities that occurs in many places and it is influenced by various reasons. We often deal with change in our own different ways and some people turn to have a certain level of resistance to change. Resistance to change in a work place is when employees react negatively to the change and it may reflect in the following manner:

• Not thinking about it, moving on with daily activities as per normal
• Ignoring the change, acting like nothing has changed. For example some will even work in their old work station after they have been informed that they are changing departments
• Increasing the use of sick leave, coming to work late, leaving earlier that they are supposed to leave or even resignations

Resistance to change can be seen as a positive reaction depending on how the leadership team respond to it, the leadership can have focus session where the employees are able debate about the change and contribute to the change.

Resistance to change does not reflect easily as people respond differently to change the flowing are the different methods of reaction:

• Overt * shown openly they don’t hide anything
• Implicit * suggested though not directly expressed
• Immediate * instant reaction
• Deferred * postpone reaction.

With the above mentioned it easier to manage change with the overt and the immediate reactions and the possibility of open discussions are high, however the implicit and deferred reactions are not easily liked to the change and at times they are not resolved until they have created a bigger challenge.  

Below is an interesting article to read – there is a section on spotting employee’s resistance to change.

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-resistance-to-change-1918240

“Some employees will publicly challenge the change, why it was needed or how it is unfolding. An employee who has a higher position and more seniority may be more resolute in his or her resistance. Less well-positioned employees may resist collectively in ways such as a work slowdown, staying home from work, misunderstanding directions, and, in rarer cases, organizing the workplace to bring in a labor union.”

Reference:

By: SUSAN M. HEATHFIELD  Updated December 10, 2018 How to Spot Resistance to Change in Your Companyhttps://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-resistance-to-change-1918240[Accessed 13 Aug. 2019].

bbins, S., Judge, T., Odendaal, A. and Roodt, G. (2016). Organisational behaviour – Global and Southern African Perspective. 3rd ed. Cape Town: Pearson Education.