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Why do people resist change in an organisation?
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(A) Resistance by Employees—Employees resist the change on the following grounds.
(1) Disequilibrium in situation and environment—Workers are habitual to work in particular situation. When change takes place, it disturbs the equilibrium of the situation and environment in which individuals and groups exist. To return to a state of balance requires people to go through a period of adaptation and adjustment to the change. Hence change is always resisted even if it is beneficial to the employees in the long run.
(2) Imbalance in need satisfaction-The cause of resistance is an imbalance in need satisfaction prior to change the individual exists within an environment in which the satisfaction of needs has reached a high degree of stability. When change occurs there is a threat to motive satisfaction i.e., there is a possibility that change may prevent or decrease need satisfaction.
(3) Insecurity to jobs—Where the changes threaten the status or the job security, their reaction is certain to be quick and violently negative. When a change involves job security, a minor change in policies or procedures may evoke disturbing reactions. Workers resist the introduction of automatic machinery because they threaten the security of job.
(4) Fear—There are some changes which employees think beneficial to them for the present such as change in promotion policy. But employees fear the danger of economic disaster in future or the adjustment to the new position or separation from his group etc. Hence they resist such changes.
(5) Loyalty to the group—Some persons are loyal to their group. Though they think that the change should be there or it is inevitable in the present circumstances, yet they are forced to resist the change because they are caught in a jaw between strong forces pushing them to make the change on the one side and strong forces deterring them against making the change on the other side. Such resistance is found in union-organisations. In India, rationalisation was opposed by the labour union on this ground.
(6) Ignoring established institutions—Every work situation develops certain customs in doing the work. The administrator, who ignores institutionalised patterns of work and abruptly attempts to create a new state of affairs which demands that these customs be abolished without further consideration will surely face resistance.
(7) Lack of clarification—Resistance can be expected if the nature of the change is not made clear to the people who are going to be affected by the change. Different people will see different meanings in the proposed change. Some people see the change as an indication that they had been doing a poor job for others. It means that their office would soon be abolished, still others think that they are losing some of the powers they formerly had.
(B) Resistance by Employer or Management
Not only employees but management also resists the change on the following grounds:
(1) Increase in responsibility—The change in the organisation brings out problem of adjustment of disequilibrium of situation and environment. The management has the responsibility to retrain the people according to the proposed changes and the responsibility of introducing the change It certainly increases the work-load and resistance occurs.
(2) Change proposed by Government or labour union—Sometimes changes are proposed or forced by the Government or the labour union. Thus, the management thinks it an insulting matter and opposes the change.
(3) Changes on experimental basis—In few cases, changes are introduced on experimental basis, viz., if it is proved beneficial, it will be extended further otherwise it will be abolished. In other words, it is a temporary phase. The management does not take interest in such a temporary change and opposes if change does not suit them.
