How to Adapt to Change in the Workplace - Research Paper Example

How to adapt to change in the workplace Abstract Change is the only constant within the workplace domains of today as has been researched upon through evidence and theories that have come forward. The changing workplace environment has meant that the people working within their realms have stood up, shown their anger, been frustrated and basically adopted this change in an unwelcoming way. However what remains consistent is the fact that change happens over time and it shows it basis with the passage of significant time period. This paper studies the basis of change as it happens within the workplace settings. Change comes about with a lot of denial on the part of the employees who are simply not ready to accept it within their stride. They believe that change shall mean a great amount of negativity for their work processes, and that they would have to undergo stress and tension at the hands of the employers who want to persist with change. They are of the view that change shall bring in a great amount of work pressure for them, which would eventually mean that they would have to exponentially increase their work yet would be given the same amount of money for what they do best within the workplace regimes1. These are some of the negative aspects which are related with the denial phase when change becomes an apparent entity in the workplace. The employees opine that they would have to be looked after by their own selves and that their work manifestations would not be taken care of by the people who should have mattered the most. The denial phase is all the more important to understand because the employees reject the idea of changing their work routines and course, and that they start believing in the fact that if they change, it would mean that there is less job security for their own selves, and that they would have to face more pressurizing times in the future. Anger is another stage within the aegis of change which shall be regarded as a very violent and aggressive one. It is one step ahead of how denial is portrayed by the employees within the workplace settings. Anger is actually the basis of some employees showing their resentment through written resignations whereby they tend to give up the idea of working any further while others believe that they would stick on and see whether they could work along the lines of the organization’s new procedures and codes. The changing attitudes are visible through their expressions, their work performance levels, and so on and so forth2. This is also apparent through their comprehension of tasks and how well they want to complete their tasks in order to satisfy the needs of the organization that they basically work for. Anger makes the employees look very different in their demeanor. They start to see things very distinctively and essentially exert their influence in more ways than one. Anger is something that shall make the best of the employees stand up and make their point get across, which is not good for the basis of the organization in essence. Dejection is the third stage of change which means that since the organization has understood that change has to happen over time, it will make the employees (the ones who are against the idea of change) shall face dejected and let down by the attitude of the organization. They would believe that change will not be a good form of communication that has happened between the organization and its employees and that there must have been a different perspective which could be adopted for the betterment of all and sundry. This is an important element of change and shall be understood within the relevant domains nonetheless3. Dejection is something that shall make the people feel very frustrated as they would believe that the organization does not pay respect to what they think and basically does things which are unbecoming of their stature and the manner in which their respective work domains got done in the past or even in the coming times. Dejection hurts the basis of the employees in a very outright fashion and curtails the process of positive reinforcement within a workplace setting. What essentially happens with dejection is that the employees are of the view that since change has now come, they should be given some room to get relaxed but this does not happen essentially, which hurts their cause more than anything else. They break up into different areas and limit themselves to the most important tasks alone, while forgetting about the others4. Next step within change is acceptance of what the workplace has brought in for the employees. They tend to start accepting the change, even though they are not happy about the same. They believe that this change has been pressurized upon them and they are doing it only because the organization wishes to implement it. They are not ready for such a change but they are doing it to let the organization know that they listened to its changing philosophy and are now complying with the same. The employees accept this change because they have nothing else to make do with. They realize that the other employees would change so it is only better that they change too and thus alter their course of action in the changing workplace dynamics of the coming times. Indeed this is something that poses as a challenge for those employees who had called it quits when the change element started to make its way within their workplace settings. They will feel that they have done compromise with the change philosophy and hence their work will start to suffer due to the same. Adoption to change in the workplace thus happens within this stage, as it should have been manifested long time back. However what is most important is the fact that change has happened for the better, though with the predicaments as discussed earlier. The last stage within the change premise is of learning and development. This is important to ascertain because if change has to manifested in the most proper way that there is, the element of learning and development needs to be taken care of at the earliest. This is done through different seminars, workshops and classes held within the aegis of the said organization. It allows the employees to know exactly what is being asked of them, and what they must do to bring themselves in line with the changing needs of the time. This is indeed one of the best known ways through which change will be manifested and it essentially draws the line between the acceptance of change and how it plays a significant role at establishing that vital link through assistance and facilitation which is provided by learning and development regimes. In the end, it would be correct to state here that change does happen over time though it usually takes quite a lot of time before that to happen. However what happens in the end is that change is manifested in one way or the other though the hindrances are severe and manifolds5. All said and done, change exists to satisfy the long term aspirations of the organization and its employees who do not like to welcome it with both arms wide open. There is a great amount of resentment and acrimony within the related ranks due to a number of reasons, most of which are mentioned above. References Bassett, Glenn. (1993). The Evolution and Future of High Performance Management Systems. Quorum Books Berkowitz, Perry. (2003). The Heart of Change. School Administrator Vol. 60 Brown, Stanley D. (1996). Implementing Change in a Correctional Setting. Corrections Today Vol. 58 Ginzberg, Eli. (1957). Effecting Change in Large Organizations. Columbia University Press Want, Jerome H. (1990). Managing the Business Change Cycle. ABA Banking Journal Vol. 82 Read More