Barriers and Resistance to Change

Overview

Change is not always easy to deal with. Even good change is not always accepted quickly.

If Ben won Lotto, would he be happy with the changes that this might cause? Perhaps he'd like to continue at work, but the responsibility of dealing with $6 million might be scary and demand too much of his attention. He might also find that he had lots of new friends, all wanting to help him manage his windfall. That might be even scarier.

People often find change threatening to their security and this can cause resistance.

Let's look more closely at barriers and resistance to change.

What is resistance?

Resistance is any conduct that attempts to preserve the status quo in the face of pressures to alter it. It is the most frequently cited reason for failure in change programmes.

Why do people resist change?

People may resist change because they perceive it as a threat to their security, status, or power. Change may be seen as detrimental to self-esteem or a recognised position. Resistance may be related to cultural issues or group solidarity. Or perhaps people believe the change will create more work for them. Also, it can be scary to have to change the way you've always done things.

Other possible reasons for resistance include:

• a lack of information, knowledge, or understanding
• a lack of strategic direction from management
• comparisons ('other solutions are better')
• defensive stances ('there's no way this will work')
• feelings of anxiety ('I won't be able to operate the new system')
• feelings of alienation ('this will separate me from my people')
• cynicism ('here we go again, we tried this once before and it failed')
• loss of power ('we won't be able to control our own budget)'.

Unplanned change, or change that comes without real information, can be the most difficult to deal with. If change is planned, and there is full communication so that people understand the need to change and what the future is likely to hold, then there should be less resistance.