Roy K. Smollan

Minds, hearts and deeds: Cognitive, affective and behavioural responses to change

When people are faced with changes to some aspect of their working lives they respond on a number of levels: cognitive, affective and behavioural. The behavioural responses are outcomes of the cognitive and emotional reactions, and are mediated and moderated by a number of variables, some of which lie in the context of the employee, some in the context of the change managers, and some in the context of the organisation. In this article a model will be presented that identifies a range of reactions to change and a series of propositions that can be tested empirically.Abstract When people are faced with changes to some aspect of their working lives they respond on a number of levels: cognitive, affective and behavioural. The behavioural responses are outcomes of the cognitive and emotional reactions, and are mediated and moderated by a number of variables, some of which lie in the context of the employee, some in the context of the change managers, and some in the context of the organisation. In this article a model will be presented that identifies a range of reactions to change and a series of propositions that can be tested empirically.

Organizational Culture, Change and Emotions: A Qualitative Study

Change triggers emotions as employees experience the processes and outcomes of organizational transformation. An organizations affective culture, which shapes the way emotions are experienced and expressed, plays a particularly important part during changes to the culture and other aspects of organizational life. This article contributes to the literature by illustrating the relationships between culture, change and emotions and presents the results of a qualitative study. The study found that when participants’ values were congruent with those of the organization, they tended to react to change more positively. Cultural change provoked emotional reactions, often of an intense nature. When emotions were acknowledged and treated with respect, people became more engaged with the change. Attitudes to existing culture also produced emotional responses to aspects of change.

Follower perceptions of the emotional intelligence of change leaders: A qualitative study

We present and explore a follower-centric model of how employees perceive the emotional intelligence (EI) of change leaders. Qualitative investigations of EI are rare and have not explored the field of organizational change leadership. Accordingly, we analyse qualitative data from a series of interviews set within the context of organizational change. We examine follower attributions about the abilities of their leaders to manage and express their own emotions and to respond appropriately to the followers’ emotions. The findings reveal that the ways in which leaders deal with emotion might be the key to followers sharing their own emotions with them. The impact of perceived leader EI on follower responses to change is also discussed. The complexity and ambivalence of our participants’ perceptions of the EI of their change leaders highlight the utility of a qualitative investigation.

Emotional Responses to the Speed, Frequency and Timing of Organizational Change

This article reports on a qualitative study which investigates the role of time in the emotions experienced during organizational change. Whereas much empirical research on emotions and time has been conducted in highly controlled experimental settings, this study discusses subjects’ emotional experiences during real-life change events related to three temporal dimensions: speed, frequency and timing. Three themes emerge from our findings: the relationship between time, major change and negative emotion; the relationship between time and perception of control; and other factors such as fairness, disposition and emotional intelligence. This study’s contribution is to focus specifically on time, emotion and change in real-world contexts, and to derive implications for managing change and for future research based on social theories recognizing time’s subjective nature.

The multi-dimensional nature of resistance to change

Resistance to organizational change has too often been portrayed in a limited way, usually as a negative behavioural response of first-level employees. While the academic literature has identified a number of dimensions of resistance, it has not assembled them in one study. Therefore, the aims of this article are firstly to explore resistance to change as a more complex multi-dimensional concept, secondly to examine how actors at various hierarchical levels react to organizational change and thirdly how they construct the meaning of the term resistance. The findings of a qualitative study shed considerable light on the range of ways in which change participants at different levels reacted to a change and how they interpreted their own responses and those of others.

Taking Change to Heart: Exploring Emotions Experienced Through Change Events

This chapter addresses the confluence of emotions, justice, and organizational change. Drawing on these three literatures, the chapter provides empirical analysis of over 100 separate organizational change events. The findings confirm previous research regarding patterns among emotions and demonstrate these patterns apply in the specific context of change. The findings also suggest that the degree of clarity one has when considering a change event matches the degree of intensity with which one experiences emotion. Finally, the findings suggest that even nominal change events are associated with intense experience of emotions. The chapter links these findings to several suggestions for further research.

Causes of stress before, during and after organizational change: a qualitative study

Purpose – Since prior empirical research has seldom compared causes of stress before, during and after organizational change the purpose of this paper is to identify stressors as change unfolded over time and to identify what led to variations in stress levels. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2012 with 31 staff in clinical and non-clinical positions in a New Zealand public health organization that had experienced considerable change. Findings – For most respondents the transition phase was the most stressful as it created job insecurity and was handled with insufficient information, consultation and support. For the balance stress increased after the change, which created additional demands that usually needed to be met with fewer resources. The stress of others emerged as a new category of stressor during the transition stage. Research limitations/implications – Memories fade and the lines between stages of change are often blurred with one change sometimes occu...

Control and the emotional rollercoaster of organizational change

Purpose – The aim of the study is to identify the emotions that arise over issues of control over organizational change, to explore why they occur and what their consequences are for the organizational member. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 24 people from different industries, organizations, hierarchical levels and functional departments were interviewed on their experiences of change and the emotional reactions they produced. Findings – Negative emotions were evoked when members sensed a lack of control, a loss of control or the possibilities of mismanaging control in an organizational change. Positive emotions were reported for those able to exert control over processes and outcomes. The metaphor of the rollercoaster effect of positive and negative emotions was specifically used by a number of participants, while several others referred to an associated metaphor, the grief cycle. Research limitations/implications – Participants were not asked what control over change they preferred, and dispos...

Evolving emotional experiences following organizational change: a longitudinal qualitative study

Purpose – There is a lack of qualitative longitudinal studies in the literature exploring the complexity and dynamism of affective experience during phases of organizational change. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and intensity of emotional reactions to change and the contextual triggers that made them vary. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 11 nurses in a Norwegian public hospital were interviewed at three points in time about a change in technology, one month prior to implementation, three months after implementation and one year after implementation. They were asked to reflect “forwards” and “backwards” about their emotional experiences to the technical change in particular and to other changes occurring at work. Findings – The informants reported mixed emotional experiences to change at all three interviews. Emotion terms such as “uncertainty”, “joy” and “resignation” were reported at all times, “anxiety and “excitement” were only reported at Times 1 and 2 whereas “frustration...

The Personal Costs of Organizational Change: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT Employee stress rises and falls during periods of organizational change, but research has tended to overlook the consequences of stress that predated the change. Interviews with 31 employees of a New Zealand public sector health authority revealed that while stress was present to some degree before the change, for some of them the transition triggered negative reactions on physiological, behavioral, affective, and cognitive levels, largely due to perceptions of inadequate processes and considerable uncertainty. For others, the aftermath was more damaging, mostly because of the extra workload, deteriorating relationships, and fear of further change. Public sector managers need to be aware of the personal costs of organizational change for employees and aim to minimize them where possible.