Organisational Change: Stopping Resistance and Creating Support for Change

Joanne Fitzgerald Organisational Psychologist

Change in organisations has been prevalent for many decades, with researchers predicating the rate if organisational change will increase rapidly in coming years. As a result, organisations are increasing seeking information about effectively leading and managing organisational change initiatives while maintaining employee wellbeing and support for change.

It is widely accepted that major organisational changes may have adverse effects both on the organisation and on individual employees. These effects have been shown to influence psychological and physical wellbeing, sickness absence, burnout, psychosomatic complaints and cardiovascular complaints (Zeitlin, 1995).
There are a number of theories that suggest proactive organisational strategies for effective change management including developing a support framework for employees, ensuring changes to policies and procedures are fair and implementing a two-way participative communication plan. All of these initiatives however require visible and transparent leadership, with leaders as key drivers and supporters of change.

Support for Employees during Periods of Change

Much literature establishes that employees who feel supported by their organisation during change are likely to reciprocate with superior performance and less likely to leave the organisation (Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison & Sowa, 1986). This research establishes that when an organisation shows support and caring for their employees, through their leaders and mangers, employees are likely to reciprocate with commitment and support for change. Such perceptions of support have been shown to result in a number of positive organisational outcomes including;

• Increased commitment and work performance
• Preserved psychological and physical wellbeing
• Reduced stress, absenteeism and thoughts of leaving the organisation

While the benefits are numerous, supporting employees through change is not enough to ensure employees accept change. Employees also need to believe that the changes being made are fair.

Making Changes Fair

Recent research explains that fairness perceptions give employees a greater understanding of change and can assist in the effective implementation of change. Justice and fairness research suggests that where employees perceive that changes are fair, they are more likely to feel positive about and support changes. As such, leaders play a central role in explaining the need for change and how changes will impact employees. Positive outcomes in response to fair changes include;

• Improved feeling of control and general satisfaction
• Improve physical and psychological wellbeing
• Increased extra-role performance, organisational commitment and trust
• Reduced stress and absenteeism
• Reduced resistance and cynicism towards change

Leading and managing employees through change should including giving employees ‘voice’ or a chance to have their opinion heard. Furthermore, leaders and managers should be able to ‘justify’ their decisions, explaining why they are necessary and what the likely outcomes of the decisions will be. Therefore leading and managing change involves inviting employees to participate in and understand the change process (Daly & Geyer, 1984). As such, two way communication is the central process utilised to implement change effectively. 

Change Communication

Psychology and management literatures indicate that communication is the key ingredient during change for reducing employee job uncertainty (Gardner et al., 2001). There are two essential communication issues that frequently influence changing organisations; the amount and quality of management communication relating to change and the amount of employee engagement in the change process.
Leaders and managers should ensure that they develop a communication plan which delivers frequent and accurate information to employees about forthcoming changes. Employees need to understand why the changes are occurring and what the likely outcomes of change will be.
Employees would also appreciate having the opportunity to participate in the change process. Introducing a change communication program engages employees by making them feel welcome to participate and giving them more control over the change process. Employee involvement in the change process can result in increased commitment, improved performance and reduced resistance to change.
Where two-way communications is effective in the workplace, it has been linked to a variety of beneficial outcomes including;

• Improved perceptions of control over change and a belief that change are fair
• Improved job satisfaction and employee wellbeing
• Improved trust in leaders and management
• Improved commitment to change and the organisation
• Improved openness to change and participation in the change process
• Reduced uncertainty, psychological strain and thought of leaving the organisation
• Reduced psychological strain and frequency of withdrawal cognitions

In essence, leadership that makes employees feel valued and cared for will encourage employee support for the change program and commitment to the organisation. Where employees believe changes are fair because they understand the need for the change and the likely outcomes, they will support the change. And where leaders promote transparent two-way communication and participation opportunities, employees will feel they can trust their leaders and believe in the utility of the changes.

References
Daly, J.P., & Geyer, P.D. (1994). The role of fairness in implementing large-scale change: Employee evaluations of process and outcome in seven facility relocations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 623-638.
Colquitt, J.A. (2004). Does the justice of one interact with the justice of many? Reactions to procedural justice in teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 633-646.
Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived  organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 500-507.
Gardner, J., Paulsen, N., Gallois, C., Callan, V., & Monoghan, P. (2001). An intergroup perspective on communication in organisations. In H. Giles & W.P. Robinson (eds.). The New Handbook of Language and Social Psychology. Chinchester UK: Wiley.
Zeitlin, L. R. (1995). Organizational downsizing and stress-related illness. International Journal of Stress Management, 2, 207-219

"I believe that the application of psychology within organisations enriches the lives of those employed by and involved with the organisation."