Is the Human Side of Organizational Change Hard to Manage? -Implications for Dealing with Employee Resistance

Abstract

Organizational change is inevitable in the modern era of business. Changes are implemented to improve organizational performances while remaining adaptive to the environmental context. Human is the central element to the successful adoption and implementation of change in any organization. Regarding human behavior, resistance to change is a common employee response as people are naturally wary of change. Resistance can have a negative impact on the sustainability and growth of the organization. However, everyone does not resist change, some also accept change. Thus, it is important to understand the employee responses to change and how to deal with the resistance to change. This paper is a narrative review of existing literature that provides valuable insights into human behavior related to organizational change. The article points out the causes of employee resistance more closely and suggests some measures to overcome the resistance. Therefore, the study provides implications for the change practitioners in developing successful strategies to address and deal with employee resistance to change.