Why do employees resist change?
When I speak to folks who lead change, they often identify change resistance as one of the biggest challenges they face when planning for change, and a major barrier when it comes to implementing and sustaining successful change.
It’s also one of the most misunderstood aspects of change management — and that misunderstanding can cost organizations, big time.
Case in point: In the span of just one month, I had conversations with two folks who lead mergers and acquisitions at global organizations; one at a for-profit company and one at a nonprofit.
Both organizations are considered leaders in their respective industries. Each one has 20,000+ employees, more than $1B in annual revenue, and entire teams dedicated to changes like M&A.
Know what they also have?
High employee turnover rates post-acquisition
Painful, expensive change experiences that damage morale, trust, performance, and productivity
No idea what they’re doing wrong!
Both change leaders blamed their issues on one thing: employees resisting change.
Rather than stop and think about why that would be the case, or whether or not it was even true, both shared that they would just keep plowing on with their current change management strategies anyway, because those strategies are supposed to be what works.
I was shocked. If people resist change at that level, they are not the problem; the strategy is.
Why do the big guys manage change so poorly? I mean, power, capitalism, stubbornness…you know, the normal reasons. But whatever the root reason is, overall, it happens because they do not center the people impacted by the change when they first design their change strategy.
If your change strategy isn’t designed with people in mind from the very start, you’re far more likely to face both types of resistance (more on that soon…).
Now, I don’t work with the big guys; my clients are small and midsize purpose-driven companies and nonprofits.
Does this mean that leading change should be easier?
Not a chance.
It means the stakes are higher, in a way. With tight margins and small teams, every change has to be a success.
So what is change resistance, why might employees resist change, and what can leaders do about change resistance to ensure that every change is a success?
What is change resistance?
Change management is meant to transition folks from a current state to a future state. The Association of Change Management Professionals defines change resistance as “a stakeholder’s opposition to a change.” So, when folks resist, they oppose that transition.
In traditional change management, resistance is typically seen as a “risk” to the successful implementation of the change. Risks are meant to be identified and addressed — “resistance management” is supposed to be the process of addressing stakeholders’ opposition to a change as part of a stakeholder engagement plan, which is supposed to engage folks and then “mitigate their resistance to and enlist their support, adoption, and ownership of the change.”
In theory.
But before we address or “mitigate” something, we have to understand it.
We have to truly understand our people and why they might resist.
Why do employees resist change?
Tell me if this sounds familiar:
As a leader, you decide on a change. You gather a planning or project team to design and begin to implement the change, and then make an announcement about this new way of working to the rest of the employees. This new way of working can be anything, from adopting new technology, to launching a new product or service, to a restructure or leadership transition.
Your project team creates a communication plan to remind folks of the new way of working or reinforce the way you want things to be done. Some people enthusiastically adopt the new way of working. Some people don’t seem to know what’s going on.
And some people vehemently oppose your idea.
Your idea is what’s best for the business, so you try to convince these folks to get with the program. This change is happening whether they like it or not; in most cases, it has already happened, and all that’s left to do is get them on board and back to work.
Their feedback just sounds like complaints, and you decide that they are simply folks who like to complain, who don’t like change, and who need to shape up or ship out. If the change is big or impactful enough, people might in fact quit. Sidebar conversations, DMs, and meetings about this change suck up valuable resources.
The longer this resistance goes on, the more grating it becomes, souring the relationship between you and these resistors.
Why is this happening!?!?!
When I say change resistance is misunderstood, it’s because the folks who lead change often fail to differentiate between normal, human change resistance and resistance to a poorly-designed strategy.
If you don’t differentiate between the two, you can’t figure out the root problem, and if you can’t figure out the problem, you can’t come up with a solution.
Aversion to disruption, suspicion of new things, fear of more work, hesitancy to take on the unknown, memories of past failed initiatives, caution, observation, curiosity, and careful assessment are all completely normal ways to react to (and potentially resist) change. Any good change strategy will include ways to prepare for and address these types of resistance.
Leaders and project teams working behind closed doors, not understanding why an individual or team would want to change in the first place, making surprise announcements, designing disruptive change processes, not planning for capacity for change, trying to convince people that a change is great, saying one thing and behaving another way, sending out endless reminders, asking for and then dismissing feedback, creating needless extra work — these are all parts of a poorly-designed strategy, and it’s not only understandable but necessary that folks resist as a way to protect themselves.
So what can leaders do about change resistance?
Instead of trying to mitigate, reduce, or eliminate resistance altogether, leaders can start by doing two things:
Understand and validate normal reactions to change and design a strategy that meets folks where they are in order to guide them to the future state
Ensure that their strategy for a specific change reduces or eliminates the challenges or negative impacts that would cause someone to resist this change — make taking ownership over the future state as smooth and seamless as possible
This combination addresses the majority of potential friction before it even becomes resistance, and can ensure a change’s success.
How can a leader reduce or eliminate the challenges or negative impacts that would cause someone to resist a specific change?
Focus on people first, as soon as you start planning for a change. Leaders have to understand (as early as possible):
Why would a person or group of employees resist this change?
What impact would this change have on their daily lives?
What benefits would the change bring for them?
What is the most impactful way I can highlight these benefits to increase understanding and adoption?
What do they need to know and how early can I share information so that they feel informed?
Where can I empower employees and give them a sense of agency so that they can move through their change journey with more ease?
What can I as a leader do to help my people?
And when you feel like you’ve exhausted all of your “normal” resistance efforts, and you’re still up against a brick wall with your people? How can you figure out why they’re resisting a change you know is best for the business?
My cheeky response? Ask them.
Is your organization planning for change — or already navigating it?
Our effective and engaging change strategies help purpose-driven companies reduce their operating costs, increase employee engagement, and build long-term change capabilities at their organizations.
If you need help uncovering and untangling challenges, designing people-centered strategies, and creating compelling communication that engages stakeholders for change that sticks, reach out and tell me about your organization and your change. If it’s right for us to work together, I’ll let you know. And if not, we can brainstorm your next best step.