Change management | 5 reasons employees resist change

Change is always hard. Whether you’re a fledgling employee who has just mastered their new employers’ policies, or an old hand who has spent years following the same (seemingly) tried and true daily routine, change means going back to the drawing board, opening yourself up to vulnerability and potentially trying something that no one is too sure will actually work.

Yet change is an essential part of business; the innumerable number of corporate juggernauts who at one time dominated their market, but refused to embrace change when it became a necessity such as AOL, Polaroid and Blackberry, to name a few, should serve as a constant warning for all companies to take a stance of constant diligence and openness to the unstoppable tide of progress.

The failings of these companies, however, always lie with the senior management team, whose job it is to evaluate a broader view of the business; the same simply cannot be asked of John in accounting, or Edward the Graphic Designer. Lower level employees don’t see the necessity to change, they just see a disconcerting alteration to their daily routine. 

It’s essential that managers understand the reasons for this hesitation, as it’s only through understanding that you can work with employees to ensure that the outcome doesn’t needlessly negatively impact them. With that in mind, here are five of the top reasons why change is so often denounced:

Harsh truth