Fear And Change Research Paper

The greatest challenge of change is that it happens at an unprecedented and accelerating pace Accelerated change makes it hard for organizations and employees to stay current with new developments and also anticipate future changes. When organizations are forced to change drastically, it affects their structures- operations, managers, staff, and all the expectations that come with that. People do not like change and often view it as a bad thing.

According to our text, accelerated change causes fear and resistance. People have fear when they do not understand the vision, when they believe they will not do well with the changes, or they do not believe in the vison of change. Fear is a powerful emotion and sometimes people are afraid to learn

Fear causes division and severs the flow of communication. Fear of change cements people to their old ways and prevents them from moving forward. Fear can foster anxiety over potential of layoffs or even the closing of the company. Often times with change, the fear can cause high employee turnover rates. The seasoned employees are hesitant to accept the new leaders because they do not know what to expect and this causes friction amongst employees. This friction effects productivity and the cycle of negativity begins (Hajek, 2010).

Fear is a powerful emotion. The fear of failure or making a mistake causes people not to want to try. They do not realize that making mistakes is part of learning. People sometimes do not like to try new things because of the fear of failure (Hajek, 2010). This negative side effect of fear causes people to focus on short term rather than long term, slows down the information flow within an organization, and they stop thinking about the positive. Fear of change is one the largest causes of resistance to change and holds people back. Fear works hand-in-hand with anxiety, self-doubt and guilt (Hajek,

People loose trust in the leadership when do not understand why the changes are needed. Lack of trust leaves people feeling helpless and powerless. If there is no trust in the leadership, there will be resistance to change. Resistance to change can also be a personality trait. Some people just do not accept change well, and like the way things are. For example, the elderly population tends to be more resistant to change. This comes from the fear of failure or feeling inadequate. When changes are being made, it is important to look at the dynamics before implementing the new procedures. This will help eliminate the fear and gradually help those who may not be fully invested in the project. Have you ever moved your garbage can away from its normal location. How many times will the person continue to walk to the old location before finally realizing, “Oh, that’s right, I moved it”. Eventually, the person learns the new location without further problems-but it takes