1

Dealing With Change and StressForces for Change

External

Marketplace

Regulation

Technology Economic

Forces

Internal

Long Range Plans

New Equipment Work Force Comp and Benefits Employee Attitudes

2

External ForcesEnvironmental Dynamics

These changes include new government regulations, changing social and political trends, new tax laws, changes in labor market conditions, or new strategies taken by competitors.

3

External Forces

New Technologies

The introduction of new equipment, tools, methods, automated machinery, and computerization allows employees and supervisors to do their jobs better and faster.

4

External ForcesEnvironmental Dynamics

These changes include new government regulations, changing social and political trends, new tax laws, changes in labor market conditions, or new strategies taken by competitors.

5

Internal Forces

Include changes in the organization’s overall strategy, reorganizations, changes in the composition of the work force, introduction of new equipment, and the need to modify employee attitudes.

6

Change Agents People who act as catalysts and

assume the responsibility for overseeing the change process.

The change agent can be a supervisor, a staff specialist, or an outside consultant.

7

Two Views on the Change Process

Traditional - allows for successful change by requiring unfreezing of the status quo (equilibrium state), changing to a new state, and refreezing the new change.

Contemporary - environments are both uncertain and dynamic and change is a “continuous” process.

8

Two Views on the Change Process

In the contemporary setting the old saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” no longer applies. It has been replaced with “if it ain’t broke, you haven’t looked hard enough. Fix it anyway.”

9

Resistance to ChangeIndividual resistance to change is a universal condition and it takes many forms: Habit - programmed responses. Threats of job or income. Fear of the unknown. Selective perception. Threat to expertise. Threat to established power and

interpersonal relationships.

10

Reducing Resistance to Change

Build trust Open channels of

communication Involve employees Provide incentives

11

Changing Employee Attitudes

Attitudes - evaluative statements or judgements concerning objects, people, or events. ID the attitude you want to change Determine what sustains the attitude Unfreeze the attitude Offer an alternative attitude Refreeze the new attitude

12

Work-Related Stress

An adaptive response resulting from any environmental action, situation, or event that places

excessive psychological and/or physical demands on a person.

13

Work-Related Stress

Two conditions are necessary for a potentially stressful situation to create actual stress for a person: Uncertainty over the outcome

The outcome must be important

14

Sources of Work StressOrganizational Factors

Task demands Role demands Interpersonal

demands Organizational

structure Organizational

leadership

Individual Factors Family problems Economic

problems Personality

15

Work-Related Stress

Stress factors are additive and individuals react to stress differently.

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Work-Related StressFour individual difference factors have been found to be important:• Perception - Stress is not negative

to everyone

• Experience

• Social Support

• Hostility - Type A vs Type B behavior

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Symptoms of StressHeadaches

High Blood PressureHeart Disease

AnxietyDepression

Decreased Job SatisfactionChange in ProductivityChange in Absenteeism

Increased Turnover

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Stress ReductionBe a good supervisor, apply all of the concepts and principles outlined in this text, and when that isn’t enough look for help elsewhere:* EAP - programs designed to act as a

first stop for individuals seeking psychiatric or substance-abuse help, with the goal of getting productive employees back on the job as swiftly as possible.

* Wellness Programs - designed to keep employees healthy, focusing on such things as smoking cession, weight control, stress management, physical fitness, etc.