The Myth
Most employees resist change, whatever the change is
The Finding
That "people resist change" is almost a truism that few dare deny. The
authors of The Enthusiastic Employee are among those few. The authors' argument
is, simply, that people resist changes that they see as harmful to them or the
organization, but they gladly welcome changes that they see as helpful. When was the
last time anyone saw a worker turn down a salary increase? Or upset because his new
manager treated him more respectfully than his previous manager? Or complain about
management adjusting the work pace to allow workers to turn out higher quality work?
Those are changes and if workers naturally resisted change, they would resist those
changes, too. The notion that people have a difficult time with change is a way to
explain "psychologically" why workers often don't want to do what management wants
them to. They don't want to do those things because they consider them harmful! Does
a worker resist a new technology that will replace him because he "resists change?" Is
he upset about a transfer to a less interesting job because he resists change? He resists
getting hurt.
The belief that people naturally resist change causes managers to act in counterproductive ways, such as secretly developing plans and springing them on workers at the last minute; not listening to the genuine and specific concerns that people have about changes (after all, why listen, if they're "just resisting change"?); needlessly overselling changes to workers; and, not doing the necessary planning to buffer the ill effects that change might bring ("they'll complain whatever we do"). Because of these behaviors, people do, indeed, act as if they resist change. It's the self-fulfilling prophecy at work again: employees' behavior reflects the way they are treated. The last chapter of The Enthusiastic Employee is devoted to methods for introducing a partnership culture in an organization. The authors' advice is to ignore the assumption of "natural resistance," assume that most employees welcome the changes that partnership will bring, and proceed with its development and introduction in ways consistent with that belief.
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