Reasons People Resist Change

The following ten reasons best describe some typical reasons why some employees have a tough time changing their mindsets and behavior:

1.  Fear of failure. Some employee resistance to change is rooted in fear. During periods of change, an employee may feel the need to cling to the past because it was a more secure, predictable time.

2.  Creatures of habit. Doing things in the same routine, predictable manner is comfortable. Asking people to change the way they operate or think requires them to move outside their comfort zone. “We’ve always done it this way, so why do we need to change?” becomes the rallying cry for people who have difficulty changing their routines.

3.  No obvious need. “If it has been working all this time, and working well, why do we need to change?” Like the old expression, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”, employees within an organization may only see a change from the perspective of the impact it has on them and their particular jobs.

4.  Loss of control. Employees working in familiar routines develop a sense of control over their work environment. They know what works and what doesn’t. Therefore, they are confident about their contribution to the organization. For some employees, asking them to change the way they operate creates a feeling of being powerless and confused during the transition.

5.  Concern about support system. Employees operating within predictable routines know their support system will back them up during challenging times. When organizational systems and structures are changed, some employees may resist the change because they lack confidence in their support system.

6.  Closed mind. For a variety of reasons, some employees seem to approach all change from an attitude of “Please don’t confuse me with any further facts or supporting documentation about this proposed or required change—I’ve already made up my mind!”

7.  Unwilling to learn. Some employees, hesitant about trying new routines, express their resistance by being unwilling to learn anything new. They may say, “I already know all that I need to know,” or “I don’t need to know that!”

8.  Fear that the change may not be better. If things have been going well, some employees resist change because they fear that the change will not result in improvement. Focusing only on their part of the operation, they may fail to realize that change is needed in order for the organization to stay competitive.

9.  Fear of the unknown. Employees may resist a change within their organization because it is something unfamiliar. Not knowing much about the specifics of the change, they think about a worst case scenario, which can be very scary. Rather than find out more, they let fear of the unknown become their rationale for not giving the change a chance.

10.  Fear of personal impact. Viewing change from a personal standpoint, some employees may respond by asking how the change will benefit them directly. Will it make their job easier? Will they have to work harder? Will the change put their job security in jeopardy? Will the change force them to work with different people or learn a new job? These are all initial responses supervisors may experience when they announce an organizational change to employees.

Typical Employee Responses Regarding Change