Resolving Workplace Conflicts: General - Resistance to Change (PDF)

Conflict tends to have a negative connotation based on our experiences, but it does not have to be this way. When we seek to understand, we communicate that we care enough to work through difficult situations and determine how to make things better to reduce stress, promote communication and enhance teamwork.

When employees resist change, there are wide-ranging impacts to team members, customer service, quality, profitability, and ultimately, organizational success. Maintaining relevancy and competitive standing in the marketplace depends upon changing rules and regulations, changing customer needs, and improvements implemented by competitors. Employees refusing to "buy-in" impede or sabotage change initiatives and doom the efforts from the start. A single employee can impact the effectiveness of the entire team effort, and supervision and management are perceived poorly when this resistance continues to go unaddressed and change initiatives fizzle out impacting future enthusiasm for any other initiatives.

With this tool you get the following:

•  The effects resistance to change has on team members.
•  Considerations for why an individual resists change.
•  Numerous solutions for improvement.
•  Ideas for negotiating/adjusting solutions.
•  Potential barriers and ways to overcome them to achieve resolution.
•  Implementation timeframe.
•  Follow-up review commitments.

Additionally, we provide a blank, editable Conflict Resolution Worksheet and the Worksheet Guidelines providing a step-by-step process for addressing your own workplace conflicts.