Navigating Organizational Change & Fostering Workplace Well-being
Understanding Organizational Change
Organizational change refers to a company or group altering its operational methods. This could involve:
- Changing how people perform their jobs.
- Implementing new technology.
- Restructuring teams or leadership.
- Adopting new goals or strategic directions.
The aim is usually to improve the organization, adapt to current trends, or resolve issues. It occurs when a business seeks to enhance performance, grow, address challenges, or respond to external factors such as new regulations, evolving customer needs, or technological advancements. This can involve new ways of working (e.g., using new software or tools), changes in leadership, restructuring teams, or redefining company goals and values.
Navigating Change as an Employee
When organizational change happens, it’s crucial to stay informed, maintain an open mind, communicate clearly, remain flexible, support your team, and prioritize your well-being.
Prioritizing Employee Well-being
Organizations should prioritize employee well-being and actively work to improve it for several reasons:
- Positive Consequences: Enhanced staff well-being leads to lower conflict and turnover, higher job satisfaction, increased productivity, and a more positive organizational culture.
- Moral Responsibility: Managers have a moral responsibility for the well-being of their employees.
It’s important to distinguish between:
- Stress Management: Primarily addresses existing negative issues or problems.
- Improving Well-being: Conversely, is a proactive and positive opportunity.
Defining Employee Well-being at Work
Employee well-being at work refers to a subjective perception of general satisfaction and positive feelings toward one’s job.
Perceived Organizational Support (POS)
Employees form global beliefs about how much their organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being.
Enhancing Well-being in the Workplace
Well-being can be significantly enhanced by:
- An organizational culture that values its staff’s physical and mental well-being.
- Training courses focused on well-being.
- Emphasis on physical health, fitness, and nutrition (information and activities).
- Activities and facilities to enhance well-being, such as:
- Social clubs.
- Physical health initiatives (e.g., fun runs, marathons, gym memberships).
- On-site cafeterias.
- Volunteering opportunities.
Understanding Authoritarian Leadership
Some authors distinguish between abusive supervision and authoritarian leadership.
Authoritarian Leadership Style (ALS), as defined by Fiedler (1967) and further discussed by Pyc et al. (2017), refers to a dogmatic, rigid, and rule-bound management approach.
Challenges in Colleague Relationships
Difficult relationships with colleagues can manifest through:
- Lack of cooperation and information sharing.
- Spreading gossip.
- Undermining performance and reputation.
- Unacceptable pranks and jokes.
- Rudeness and unwarranted criticism.
- Bullying.
- Sexual, racial, and other forms of harassment.
Root Causes of Workplace Bullying
Bullying can stem from various factors:
- Individual Factors: The bully’s aggressive, disagreeable personality or destructive values.
- Group Dynamics: Protection by the group, mimicking behavior, or emotional contagion.
- Organizational Culture: A culture that condones bullying, practices by managers, or inaction/ignoring of complaints.
- Industry Specifics: More prevalent in certain sectors, such as healthcare.
- Societal Influences: Condoned by society, demonstrated by politicians and senior leaders, or a lack of justice/action.
Consequences of Bullying
The impacts of bullying often fall into general categories of stress response: physiological, behavioral, emotional, and cognitive.
- These can include anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, burnout, mental health problems, physical health issues, and post-traumatic stress.
Research indicates that targets of bullying often report lower levels of constructive leadership, reduced colleague and supervisor support, and diminished self-rated performance. Furthermore, these individuals experience higher stress levels, lower emotional well-being, increased absenteeism, and a greater intention to leave the organization.
Understanding Types of Organizational Change
Categories of Change
- Strategic Changes: Introducing new products or services, discontinuing existing ones, international expansion or contraction, targeting new customer segments, and major restructuring.
- Tactical Changes: Significant alterations in operating hours, store/office/factory design, implementation of remote work policies, adoption of new technology or IT systems, redundancies, and restructuring at lower organizational levels.
- Operational Changes: Adjustments to work schedules and methods across various departments.
Important Note: Major changes do not necessarily affect all staff equally. What might be considered a minor organizational change could represent a significant shift for an individual employee. Stress can manifest before, during, and after any change initiative.
Mitigating Stress During Organizational Change
Organizations can take several steps to make change less stressful for employees:
- The change process must be carefully planned to be both efficient and mindful of employees, considering both the process and its outcomes.
- Employees should be consulted and encouraged to participate wherever possible.
- Communication must be comprehensive and regular throughout the process.
- During stressful periods, all types of support should be provided, not just Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs).
- Stressful outcomes must be minimized (both process and outcomes). This includes offering compensation (for outcomes) and assisting staff in finding alternative employment (addressing both process and outcomes).