Human Reaction to Change: The Reality and Impact of Stress

Change has become inevitable and a dominant aspect within organisations. As organisations are increasingly involved in change, many approaches to organisational change exist. However, the impact of change on the individual and the reality of elevated stress levels during periods of organisational change is often disregarded. Within this context, creating meaningful and sustainable change remains challenging. This study followed a qualitative research approach and a grounded theory methodology was adopted. Negative emotions dominated the research data and our research indicated that individuals find it difficult to engage with change in a meaningful manner as stress, fear and anxiety dominate. Human reactions and experiences relating to change and the reality that poorly planned or executed organisational change initiatives increases stress levels, informed us that organisations have to regard individual’s physical, emotional, mental and spiritual elements. When any one of these elements are burdened, the other will also be troubled. Only when all these elements receive equal attention or are balanced can there be coherence. A whole person will be able to contribute much more at an individual, team and organisational level. We emphasise the necessity to challenge organisational change methods as we highlight the reality of stress within organisations. Further, our research data indicated that few organisations are able to effectively address elevated levels of stress in individuals. Heightened stress levels are often ignored as few organisational resources are available to support individuals through an organisational change nightmare. The importance of leadership surfaced as leaders must help individuals to gain a sense of identity in a change initiative. Granting individuals new powers, new freedoms, choices and proper guidance through the nightmare of uncertainty, unpredictability and chaos is empowerment. Offering individuals anxiety, stress and fear relievers, would provide them with new tools for mood control, emotional stability, consolation and creativity.