Introduction
Change management is the handling or management of development and change within an enterprise or a similar organization. Change management enables organizations or companies to meet customer requirements, adapt to new market conditions, and remain competitive (Raza et al., 2018). Implementing organizational changes creates a lot of stress for workers or employees, affecting their productivity, job satisfaction, and general well-being. The discussion in this paper is based on the case study of Ariza Credit Union. Being a financial institution, Ariza Credit Union has changed by introducing new services and products, restructuring departments, and adopting new technology. These changes have been critical and essential for the credit union’s success. However, the changes have resulted in a lot of stress for the workers (DeGhetto et al., 2017). The workers have also resisted these changes for various reasons. Using the case study of Ariza Credit Union, this paper aims to analyze how change management affects employees or workers critically. The paper also includes recommendations on effective or successful change management approaches that ascertain workers’ success and productivity. The paper’s first section describes Ariza Credit Union’s change management strategies and employees’ responses to the changes. The second section analyzes the impact or effect of change management on employees, highlighting what causes resistance and stress. The final part includes recommendations for effective change management approaches that ensure employees’ success.
Description of Ariza Credit Union and Change Management
Ariza Credit Union is a financial organization that offers clients different financial or monetary services and products (A, 2017). Recently, various changes have been made within this organization. These changes include the introduction of new services and products, department restructuring or re-organization, and adoption of new technology. The management of Ariza Credit Union made these changes to ensure that the organization can adapt to new market conditions while meeting client demands. The changes also ensure that the organization remains competitive in the financial services sector (A &A, 2017). The organization used various change management strategies or approaches to implement these changes. The organization employed several change management strategies, including employee engagement, training and development, consultation, and communication. Ariza Credit Union’s management used various methods to communicate to the employees about the changes to be made, why the changes had to be made, and what would be expected if the changes were implemented. Ariza Credit Union also provided its workers with the required development and training programs to assist them in acquiring the competencies and skills required to adapt to the new strategies, processes, and technologies. The credit union also encouraged its workers to fully engage or participate in the change process by soliciting their ideas, inputs, and suggestions.
The changes made by the credit union received different reactions from the union workers and employees. While some workers embraced the changes and saw them as opportunities for developing professionally and learning new skills, others resisted these adjustments. They felt stressed and overwhelmed by the new strategies, processes, and technologies (DeGhetto et al., 2017). Most of the workers who resisted these changes felt insecure about their jobs. Others were still determining if they could adapt to the new adjustments. The employees’ resistance to changes made it hard for the organization’s management to successfully or effectively implement them. For instance, during the change process, the organization faced challenges like decreased productivity, low morale, and employee absenteeism. The employees who managed to adapt to the changes reported a lot of burnout because of the stress associated with the adaption.
Critical analysis of Change Management and the impact on the workforce
Change management is a critical process that cannot be avoided because it helps organizations to meet the changing client requirements while remaining competitive in different sectors or industries. Change management, however, creates anxiety and stress for workers, affecting general well-being, productivity, and job satisfaction (Ahmed et al., 2019). For instance, as seen in the case study of Aria Credit Union, most workers experienced a lot of stress while adapting to the organizational changes, and others resisted these changes.
The job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model is a theory that can help understand the impact of change management on employees. According to the JD-R model, resources and job demands significantly affect work outcomes and the well-being of employees (Bakker & Agrawal, 2020). In this case, job demands can be defined as work aspects that need psychological or physical effort. These demands are associated with psychological and physical costs. Conversely, job resources are work aspects that assist workers or employees in meeting their targets, minimizing job demands, and facilitating personal development and growth. According to this theory implementing new strategies, processes, and technologies increases job demands and minimizes job resources, resulting in employee burnout and stress. For instance, new technologies require workers to learn new skills and work for long hours, which increases job demands. Employees may also need more training or support, reduce job resources, and elevate stress. The model also asserts that successful change management increases job resources and minimizes job demands. This helps in mitigating the adverse effects of change on the employees. For instance, when employees are involved in a change process, the proper development and training programs are implemented, effective communication is maintained, job resources are increased, and job demands are minimized (Van der Voet & Vermeeren, 2017). These strategies help increase workers’ sense of control, support, and autonomy, increase engagement and minimize stress. Generally, this theory suggests that the JD-R model asserts that change management affects workers’ well-being and work outcomes by elevating job demands and minimizing job resources. When effective change management approaches are used, they help mitigate the negative effects of change on the employees and elevate ownership and engagement in the change process.
Another significant theory that helps understand how change management brings stress to employees is Lewin’s Change Management Model. This model contains three stages or phases (Galli, 2018). The first stage is called unfreezing. This phase entails the creation of a sense of motivation or urgency for change. The phase also includes communicating the need for change, the benefits of change, and addressing resistance or concerns that the employees may have. In this phase, employees are usually anxious and stressed out because they are unaware of the responsibilities and roles that await them when the change is implemented. The second phase of this model is called the changing stage. In this phase, new changes are introduced, which overwhelm the employees with the new technologies, systems, or processes they are expected to use (Tang & Tang, 2019). The phase also includes training and supporting employees to assist them in adapting to the changes. Employees feel pressured to adapt effectively and quickly, increasing anxiety and stress. The last phase of this model is called refreezing. This phase involves embedding or attaching the changes into the organization’s processes and culture to ensure they are permanent components (Burnes & Bargal, 2017). In this phase, there may be different activities, including reinforcing new processes, systems, or behaviors and celebrating milestones and successes to sustain the change momentum. This phase stresses employees because they feel pressured to conform to new mannerisms. The employees may also be stressed and frustrated because they feel that their ideas and opinions are not considered or valued.
Change management has a significant impact on the workforce of the affected organization. The first impact of change management is employees stress. When new strategies, processes, or technologies are implemented, they create ambiguity and uncertainty among the workers (Cameron & Green, 2019). This makes the employees stressed and anxious. Employees’ stress can be psychological, emotional, or physical. Stressed employees always display signs of irritability, depression, and fatigue, with others reporting having frequent headaches. Stress also results in decreased productivity, poor job satisfaction, and absenteeism. All these affect the general performance of the affected organization. This is because the organization has to make a lot of effort while using many resources to ensure that all employees are comfortable with the new processes, strategies, or technologies.
The second impact of change management on employees is increased resistance. Most employees resist or reject new changes being made in their organization. This is because most employees fear many things, including losing their jobs and failing to adapt to the changes. The employees also fear the unknown because they must determine what to expect from the proposed changes. This kind of resistance results in decreased morale and motivation and elevated turnover. As seen in the case of Ariza Credit Union, resistance to change results in communication breakdowns, minimized collaboration, and minimized trust among workers.
The third impact of change management on the workforce is decreased job satisfaction. According to research, change management is among the factors that lead to decreased job satisfaction among employees. This happens because most employees feel they should have contributed to the changes imposed on them. Job satisfaction determines things like turnover, absenteeism, and organizational motivation. For instance, when job satisfaction is low, it results in increased turnover, increased absenteeism, and decreased motivation. Increased turnover results when employees leave the organization searching for better opportunities due to job dissatisfaction. This results in losing valuable expertise and talent and elevated costs associated with training and recruiting new workers. Employees are also likely to be absent if they are not motivated or engaged. This results in minimized productivity and elevated costs associated with covering absent workers. Lastly, when employees are dissatisfied with their work, they are less motivated and tend to become less committed to the organization’s goals. The employees are also less willing to go beyond and above in their work, which results in minimized general performance and productivity.
The fourth impact of change management on the workforce is increased workloads with no increase in payments or salaries. Change management increases the workload for workers, especially if the change requires them to work long hours or learn new skills. When the workload increases, workers experience burnout, demotivation, and minimized job satisfaction. Also, when the workload is increased, most employees get overwhelmed and are sometimes unable to complete projects to the best of their abilities. This results in mistakes and errors that negatively or adversely affect the organization’s performance. Employees may also feel they are expected to work more with fewer resources or pay, resulting in minimized job performance and resentment. Most organizations do not increase salaries for employees when a new change is implemented. This makes the employees feel that they are being overworked because they are getting the same pay for the increased work.
Corporate recommendations that theoretically support propositions for effective change management approach for employees’ success
The success of change management requires organizations to have different approaches which support workers and facilitate their success. The following recommendations are important in ensuring that organizations use effective change management approaches that ensure employees’ success. The discussed recommendations include: involving employees or workers in the change management process, supporting and training workers, effective communication, monitoring and evaluating change impacts, and recognizing and celebrating successes.
The first recommendation is to involve employees in the change management event or process. The involvement of employees or workers in implementing and planning changes within an organization ensures that their perspectives and concerns are considered. This helps in minimizing change resistance and increases worker engagement and buy-in. There are several benefits of involving workers in any change process. First, workers involved in any change process will likely have a sense of commitment and ownership toward the change or initiative. Involvement or engagement makes them active participants in the change event, making them feel that their contributions are valued. When workers or employees are properly engaged in a change process, there is always greater motivation and engagement. Second, engaging workers in a change process helps them better understand and accept the change. Engaged workers have a proper understanding of the rationale behind each change and the benefits associated with the change. In turn, employee resistance is minimized. Third, involving employees in the change process improves collaboration and communication between departments and teams. This helps break down the silos and establish a more collaborative and cohesive working ground. Finally, involving employees in the change process enables the management to identify potential solutions and issues. This is because employees are involved in any organization’s daily operations and are in a better place to know the challenges and issues that may sprout during change implementation. The organization or company can address the concerns and derive solutions before they hinder the change implementation.
The second recommendation has effective communication. The change management process or event requires the management to communicate effectively. This ensures that all employees or workers are informed and understand why the changes are being made. This reduces employee anxiety and stress and elevates commitment and motivation to change. It is important to keep employees informed at every stage or phase of the change initiative because communication always continues. Communication effectively during a change process has many advantages: first, it helps reduce stress and anxiety. When the management or leadership effectively communicates changes to employees, they get clear information on details like how the change will affect them or the organization and the duration the change will require to be implemented. Second, effective communication build credibility and trust among workers. Employees who constantly communicate with the management during a change feel that their concerns are being addressed. This helps in improving trust with the management and believing in the change management. Third, effective communication results in increased motivation and commitment. Employees who comprehend the decision to have a change in an organization and the effects of this change have higher chances of being committed to the change. They are also motivated to support this change. Finally, effective communication facilitates cooperation and collaboration.
The third recommendation is supporting and training employees. When employees get adequate support and training, they adapt to the changes faster than when they are not. With sufficient support and training, the adverse effects of elevated workload and job satisfaction are minimized. This ensures workers feel competent and confident in their new responsibilities and roles (Russ, 2008). There are various benefits associated with training and supporting employees. First, supporting and training employees helps reduce adverse effects like minimized job satisfaction and increased workload. Sufficient training and support ensure that employees feel engaged and empowered. Second, supporting and training employees helps in enhancing productivity and performance. Employees with sufficient support and training are better equipped to perform their duties well. This results in enhanced productivity and performance. Third, supporting and training employees enhances employee retention and engagement. Organizations that train and support workers can make them feel valued. This increases their chances of being committed and engaged to the organization, which helps in enhancing employee retention rates and minimizing turnovers. Lastly, training and supporting employees help in building a learning culture. Organizations help establish a culture of growth and learning by investing in employee development and training. This helps retain and attract top talents to ensure the organization’s competitive edge.
The fourth recommendation is to recognize and celebrate successes. Celebrating milestones and successes helps sustain the change momentum and elevate job satisfaction and employee motivation. This process includes recognizing team and individual contributions, offering incentives or rewards, and acknowledging the positive effects of the changes on the company and its workers. The benefits of recognizing and celebrating successes include: encouraging continued commitment- when organizations recognize and support success, they encourage employees to be more committed to the change initiative (Hayes, 2022). Celebrations constantly remind employees of the essence of their contributions; boosting morale- recognizing and celebrating successes helps boost employees’ morale and establish positive work environments; creating teamwork- celebrating successes helps establish collaboration and teamwork because it creates a sense of shared achievement. This encourages workers to work together to achieve common goals, encouraging creativity and innovation- when organizations celebrate successes; it encourages creativity and innovation because it inspires workers to think of new and innovative ways of enhancing the company.
The fifth recommendation is paying the employees enough salaries. When a new change is implemented, its advantages should not only bring profitability to the organization. The employees should be given adequate payments considering that they are part of the change process that requires them to adopt new skills and do some extra work. When employees are satisfied with their salaries, they are motivated to work better, an advantage to the organization (Ogbonnaya et al., 2017). Money is a motivation in any setting; therefore, employees need to feel that the change is also positively affecting what they earn. Sufficient salaries will help promote the acceptance of the change process or event.
The last recommendation is monitoring and evaluating the change impacts. When the impacts or effects of change are monitored and evaluated well, managers can identify improvement areas and ascertain that the change management approaches taken effectively achieve the company’s goals (Lane et al., 2015). Evaluation and monitoring of the effects of change involve collecting feedback from workers, evaluating performance data, and making changes or adjustments to the change management approaches as required. Evaluating and monitoring change impacts has several benefits: first, it helps identify improvement areas. Through this, managers can adjust the identified areas and promote the success of the change initiatives. Second, it ensures that the change is successful or effective. It helps managers to ensure that the changes made have the desired outcome or effect on the company. Third, monitoring and evaluation ensure managers can get employee feedback using the new system. This helps the managers comprehend how the changes affect their workers and identify issues or concerns that must be addressed. Finally, constant evaluation and monitoring of impacts help demonstrate the change value. When a change is constantly monitored and evaluated, it helps managers show its value to its stakeholders, including employees, customers, and investors.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this paper has discussed how change management makes employees stressed using the case study of Ariza Credit Union. An organization that keeps succeeding or prospering undertakes change management in different areas. However, this kind of change in an organization creates stress for workers. While implementing some of these changes, leaders and managers are advised to use successful change management methods that ensure the productivity and success of workers. Riza Credit Union’s case gives an overview of how change management affects workers or employees in an organization. The case study outlines that implementing organizational changes creates stress and pressure on employees, affecting their general well-being, job satisfaction, and productivity. The case also outlines various reasons why employees may be resistant to changes. These reasons include insecure feelings about their jobs and uncertainties about their capacity to adapt to the new changes. This paper has also highlighted the effects or impacts of change management on employees. These impacts include burnout, employee absenteeism, low morale or demotivation, and decreased productivity. All these effects are detrimental to the success of any organization or company. They should therefore be addressed through using effective change management methods or approaches. The recommendations discussed in this paper include effective communication, engaging employees, providing support and training, recognizing and celebrating successes, and monitoring and evaluating the impacts of the change.
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