Introduction
Resistance to change especially at the workplace is inevitable in any organization. It is considered a natural condition because it is a basic tenet of human behavior. Organizations should devise mechanisms for dealing with change resistance on organization policies. Change resistance may take different forms ranging from obvious ones like active resistance or refusal to corporate with change to more complex resistances that are hard to deal with.
Assessing resistance to change in the workplace
Change resistance in the workplace could be assessed in many ways depending on the change in the behavior and reaction of workers to change. Firstly, there is the level of tolerance to change. Where there is low tolerance to change, the possibility is that people are resistant to change. Secondly, there is a perceived threat to job security. This is one of the causes of change resistance and therefore where people perceive change as a threat to their jobs, then there is resistance to that change.
Shifts in communication patterns could also express the level of resistance (Borkowski, 2005, 9). There may happen to be a lot of grapevine within the organization which is dominated by the change just implemented. A decline in the levels of performance and productivity by affected individual employees after a change has occurred in the organization may also be an indication of resistance to change. The level of motivation after the change should be escalated if the change is accepted, otherwise, there is resistance.
Techniques for overcoming change resistance
Change resistance could be overcome by a number of factors. The first technique is to effectively educate and communicate about the change beforehand so that people can see the logic in the change effort being made (Schlesinger, & Kotter, 1979, 1). Resistance is more intense where change is introduced before the employees are educated and informed about it. The other approach is to involve the employees in the change effort so that they can participate effectively in its implementation.
If this is ensured, employees would buy into the change rather than reject or resist it. To overcome change, managers should facilitate and support the employees where they are facing adjustment problems. This approach is effective where there is fear and anxieties during transition that make people resist to change. Negotiation and agreement between the change initiators and the employees could also be used to combat resistance (Schlesinger, & Kotter, 1979, 1). The managers should use effective incentives to create consensus with the employees. Manipulation and co-option is another technique whereby the managers manipulate resisters by incorporating their leaders into the change effort. Other resisters will follow their leaders. Explicit and implicit coercion can also be used if all the other techniques fail or where necessary to do so.
Learning from an analysis of resistance
The analysis presents that lack of proper communication of the change beforehand and educating people on how to adjust with is the main cause of resistance. Learning about why people resist change is the most important point that might be applied to a successful change product. It is also essential to learn about the techniques that are effective in combating resistance (Bacal, 2010, 1). The managers should also perform an analysis of the problems that the employees are likely to encounter as they adjust to change (Spector, 2010, 6). They should then device mechanisms to offer solutions to the problems.
It is also essential to learn how participation and involvement of employees in the change effort influence their reaction to change. The same should be done to other factors before they are employed in combating change.
Reference list
Borkowski, N. (2005). Organizational behavior in health care. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Schlesinger, V. S. & Kotter, J. P. (1979). Dealing with Resistance to Change: Six Approaches. U.K: valuebasedmanagement. Web.
Bacal, M.A. (2010). Resistance to Change – How and Why People Resist. Ontario: work911. Web.
Spector, B. (2010). Implementing Organizational Change: Theory into Practice (2nd Ed.) Upper Saddle River: NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.