If it is badly managed, the organisation can descend into crisis or chaos. Sounds a bit extreme? Well, feelings are not necessarily logic, but they are natural.įor your organisation, the anger stage is the “danger zone”. In fact, it will surely be the end of everything good and might even bankrupt the whole company”. “This change is completely unnecessary and stupid. People in this stage can be expected to be irritable, frustrated and short-tempered. Some might take out the anger on themselves, whilst others direct it towards others around them. These reactions can be expressed in a variety of ways. When people see that the change is starting to become real, they move on to the second stage: anger. Giraffe: “Stupid quicksand, stupid jungle, I wanna bite someone in the face!” In your communications you can gain an advantage by focusing on what stays the same, to create a sense of continuity. Release it gradually and preferably face-to-face. People try not to pay any attention to the changes and avoid associating with anyone talking positively about the change.Įnsure that your employees understand WHY the change is being made and what is in it for them. But do not overwhelm them with information in the early stages. Possible reactions can be: “This change is just another initiative put forward by ‘them’ and will be abandoned and lost in the stream so why should I even bother to change?”. People simply do not accept or acknowledge what they perceive to be bad news. Giraffe: “It’s no big deal, it’s probably not even quicksand”
Her theory pertains to grieving the loss of a person, but also provides useful insights for understanding how and why people resist and react to changes in organisations. The five stages of grief were originally put forward by the physician Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. In fact, unresolved grief from change processes is the source of much of general resistance to change that we often see in organisations. Therefore, it is necessary to redeem the sense of loss. This feeling of loss is naturally followed by the grieving process. Losses do not even need to come to fruition in organisational change to cause emotional distress for employees – the mere thought of the chance that it might happen can create profound anxiety. They experience the effect of the change in different ways, depending on their individual interpretation.
Morten, from the same company, on the other hand, feels like the Career Framework makes him lose control over his career path. When a new Career Framework is implemented she experienced a loss of status because it makes her seniority less clear. It is important to remember that individuals experience loss in different ways.Ĭonsider this example: Karin has been working for Company X for 20 years. This includes loss of control, social status and self-worth. There are tangible losses, such as loss of income if a person is demoted, or the fear of losing your job. That is why forced changes are often emotional experiences. This even applies to positive changes because you still must release your grasp on old, familiar routines. Have you ever been surprised by employees’ reactions to even small organisational changes?įorced change is intimidating and disturbing for people because work is central to most peoples’ lives and identities. Why organisational changes are a loss to employees That is what some organisational changes are to employees: a grief process.
Instead, it is vital that you understand the human dynamics of changes to better support your employees through the process of grief. While this might be the easiest thing to do, it does not deal with the root cause and the real issues. The default reaction is to blame employees for being resistant. And often there will be resistance to the changes. Complex, emotionally challenging changes have little chance of success, unless the severity of loss is acknowledged and grief is redeemed.Īs you probably have realised, it is inevitable that changes in your organisation will happen. To succeed with changes, you must be ready to deal with issues such as loss and emotional grief.
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