Methods of Overcoming Resistance to Change

Introduction

Many workers are drawn from different parts of today’s workplace environment, bringing varying cultural values and aspirations. Most of the aspirations are rooted in their respective traditional values and work ethics, while others could be due to the technological world’s dynamic (Murrar & Brauer, 2019). Workers who still believe in their tradition and work ethics pose significant challenges for leaders during change management. In this regard, learning how to overcome resistance in the workplace is now part and parcel of company management strategies. Workers must be sensitized to the need to embrace change to counter generational stereotypes that can create a collaborative barrier. Once generative stereotypes have been established among workers, it becomes difficult for a company to either achieve its set goals or overcome resistance to change (Ybema & Horvers, 2017).

The company finds it problematic to adapt to new initiatives resulting from alterations in product or technology methods. Reforms are the only way for the company to survive and retain its competitive advantage; the leaders must find a way to achieve its objectives in a quickly evolving marketplace. This paper seeks to shed light on several methods a manager may employ to ensure that all workers adopt the proposed new initiatives.

Company Leaders Must Always Expect Change

In a company, workers are expected to be guided by the proper morals and code of ethics. However, when it comes to adopting new changes, it becomes unrealistic as many employees reject organizational changes that directly or indirectly affect them (Oreg, 2018). In this regard, the company leaders must know how to involve workers in decision-making before adopting any change. In a workplace, stakeholders have to be brought on board and express their views regarding the proposed change initiatives (Ybema & Horvers, 2017). The managers must have a plan on ways to address their pushback. In this case, the plan might be positive reinforcement and the consequences that may result from the company’s failure to embrace the changes.

Putting an End to Generational Prejudice

Sometimes there can be disagreements among employees in the workplace that need to be resolved as fast as possible. Effective implementation of change requires employees’ total collaboration through teamwork and willingness to adopt the new initiatives. Therefore, it becomes challenging to get a generation to collaborative work together if they disagree on their work style (Ybema & Horvers, 2017).

The workplace disagreement could be due to employees’ differences, which eventually affect the effective implementation of change. The company leaders can overcome such disputes by actively identifying scenarios where two or more workers are butting heads and helping them solve their differences before it jeopardizes the overall implementation of new changes (Oreg, 2018). To ensure all workers embrace new changes, their managers should only recruit and hire workers whose values and morals reflect their values, mission, and vision.

Encouraging Teamwork

Disagreement among employees can be overcome through the company’s initiatives that advocate for teamwork. Once all workers fully embrace teamwork, they understand one another on a personal level. Studies suggest that company leaders should know that it is not always ‘work’ that brings employees together (Murrar & Brauer, 2019). Other teamwork initiatives need to be adapted to enhance interpersonal respect and values among workers, which is vital for them to embrace change. Therefore, connections between employees are fundamental in cultivating solid organizational culture and peace in the workplace. A company only achieves that by creating opportunities for staff to socialize by sponsoring events and group outings. The management also needs to organize clubs to bring employees together and rejoice regardless of their title and age.

Establishing Causes of Resistance Among Workers

In many cases, staff members resist change due to various reasons depending on the proposed initiatives. Therefore, the management should not hastily take disciplinary measures to punish or dismiss them because for effective change implementation to be realized, every worker’s buy-in is needed. Many telltale signs show workers are opposing the change, and they may launch a complaint, refuse to take part in the proposed initiatives, or miss attending critical meetings (Ybema & Horvers, 2017).

It is necessary to understand why lamentation may identify the most common cause of resistance in the workplace. The cause of resistance may be a lack of awareness of the proposed change and fear of job loss. Another factor that makes workers not embrace new initiatives could be failed attempts to implement similar change initiatives in the past (Oreg, 2018). By effectively identifying why there is resistance among workers, the managers have to devise better approaches to dealing with resistance to change head-on. The company, for instance, must organize awareness initiatives to address the issues raised by workers before implementing the changes.

Effective Communication

Communication is essential in the workplace because it is what determines the level of the company’s success. The company leaders must clearly and concisely communicate with all stakeholders about the change initiatives (Ybema & Horvers, 2017). The management has to show how the change may impact employees. Each worker is expected to know their role before, during, and after the change has been rolled out. Effective communication ensures all issues raised by different workers in the organization are addressed.

Here, leaders should ethically respond to workers’ problems instead of forcing them to embrace new changes that are likely to jeopardize their fundamental rights. Suppose there is adopting the modern ways of production. In that case, management begins by training some of the existing workers instead of hiring experts from outside, making it necessary for them to lay off some of them. The managers must avoid discounting how quickly the older generation might have adopted the technology (Oreg, 2018). They must understand that their employees might only require little training to use the new technology comfortably.

Effectively Adopt Change Right For The First Time

In the organization, employees would only back initiatives based on earlier attempts of change implementation. If the company is for the first time trying to adopt change, it should do its best to ensure it succeeds by setting realistic plans that can be implemented within specific timelines. According to Oreg (2018), some organizations fail to implement changes because they do not have set objectives; they overwork workers expect near-immediate gratification. The company must take time to ensure everything is placed as planned. The change can be rollout quickly and effectively if the leaders break down the initiatives so that every worker knows their assigned part to play.

Conclusion

Change is inevitable in any organization, and its future progress depends on how it responds to management ideas. However, there is no guarantee that the change initiative would succeed without involving every employee. Workers should be involved in decision-making, and their views regarding the proposed change addressed to see the need to adopt the initiatives. In an organization, there is usually interpersonal disagreement among workers, which can hinder change adoption.

The company leaders must establish teamwork where employees would appreciate each other’s efforts, thus effectively embracing changes. Communication in an organization is so paramount when the management workers embrace change initiatives. Through proper communication, the company managers must brief the staff on the nature of change and how it would affect every employee. Here, the managers need to listen to workers’ views and act accordingly, contributing to change initiatives’ effective implementation.

References

Murrar, S., & Brauer, M. (2019). Overcoming resistance to change: Using narratives to create more positive intergroup attitudes. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 28(2), 164-169. Web.

Oreg, S. (2018). Resistance to change and performance: Toward a more even-handed view of dispositional resistance. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 54(1), 88-107. Web.

Ybema, S., & Horvers, M. (2017). Resistance through compliance: The strategic and subversive potential of frontstage and backstage resistance. Organization Studies, 38(9), 1233-1251. Web.