Why Do Employees Resist Change?

• Surprise: Unannounced significant changes threaten employees’ sense of balance in the workplace.
• Inertia: Employees have a desire to maintain a safe, secure, and predictable status quo.
• Misunderstanding/Ignorance/Lack of Skills: Without introductory or remedial training, change may be perceived negatively.
• Emotional Side Effects: Forced acceptance of change can create a sense of powerlessness, anger, and passive resistance to change.
• Lack of Trust: Promises of improvement mean nothing if employees do not trust management.
• Fear of Failure: Employees are intimidated by change and doubt their abilities to meet new challenges.
• Personality Conflicts: Managers who are disliked by their employees are poor conduits for change.
• Poor Timing: Other events can conspire to create resentment about a particular change.
• Lack of Tact: Not showing sensitivity to feelings can create resistance to change.
• Threat to Job Status/Security: Employees worry that change threatens their job or security.
• Breakup of Work Group: Changes can tear apart established on-the-job social relationships.
• Passive-Aggressive Organizational Culture: The more things change, the more they stay the same.
• Competing Commitments: Change can disrupt employees in their pursuit of other goals.