How to Navigate Organizational Change as an Employee

To navigate organizational change as an employee, find out what the change means for your own work. Ask what's changing, when it starts, whether it affects your role, and what support you'll get. Keep your current work going until the answers are specific. Raise problems with the person who decides, and bring an example.

The announcement said your department is being restructured. It didn't say what happens to your job, when it starts, or who to ask. People on your team are already guessing at the answers in the group chat.

What Counts as Organizational Change at Work?

Organizational change is a planned change to how an organization is set up or run, such as a new structure, a new system or a new process. Shaul Oreg, Maria Vakola and Achilles Armenakis reviewed six decades of studies of how employees react to organizational change (Oreg, Vakola and Armenakis, 2011, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science). The changes in those studies included mergers, downsizing, restructuring, new pay systems, redesigned jobs, new work schedules and new office layouts.

People's reactions were linked to how the change was run, including how much information they got and how much say they had. They were also linked to whether people expected the change to help or harm them personally. The authors called that a key factor in whether people accepted a change or resisted it.

How Do You Handle Organizational Change When It's Announced?

In the days after an announcement, take these steps.

• Write down what the announcement says and what it leaves out. Check it for what's changing, when, who it affects, what changes in your daily work, what support you'll get, and what stays the same.

• Keep your current work going until you have specific answers. Stopping or rebuilding work on a guess can leave gaps in work that was never meant to change.

• Take the questions the announcement didn't answer to your manager. Say you're asking so you can plan your work.

David Schweiger and Angelo DeNisi studied two plants of a company that had recently announced a merger (Schweiger and DeNisi, 1991, Academy of Management Journal). Employees at one plant got a program of realistic communication about the merger. Employees at the other plant got limited information. Across four rounds of data collection, the realistic communication reduced the merger's negative effects on employees, and the effects lasted as long as the study did.

Ask your manager for the same kind of realistic information, such as what's decided, what isn't, and when you'll hear more.

Which Questions Get You Specific Answers about a Change?

Six questions to ask about a change at work cover the details an announcement can leave out.

• What changes in your area. A phrase such as "modernizing our approach" doesn't tell you which of your tasks, tools or reporting lines change. To get specifics out of a vague announcement, ask about each of those for your own work.

• When it starts. Get a start date out of the announcement by asking when the change takes effect and whether some teams start before others.

• Whether it affects your role or team. To find out if a change affects your team, ask which of your team's projects and responsibilities are in scope.

• What changes day to day. Ask what you'll start doing, stop doing and do differently. If the answer repeats the strategy message, the plan for what the change means for your daily work may not be finished yet.

• What support you'll get. Before the start date, ask what support is available, such as training dates, written guides, and who to contact when you're stuck. If the support isn't ready yet, treat the start date as one that may move.

• What stays the same. Some announcements list what's changing next to what isn't. If yours didn't, ask what's staying the same, such as your reporting line, current projects and daily routines.

A vague answer to any of these can mean the decision isn't final yet. Agree on a date with your manager to ask again.

What Should You Do When You Hear Nothing after the Announcement?

A long gap with no news after an announcement doesn't tell you what the answers will be. The decisions may not be made yet.

Prashant Bordia and his colleagues collected rumors from employees at a large public hospital that was going through a change (Bordia et al., 2006, Group & Organization Management). The rumors were about jobs and working conditions, what the change was, poor handling of the change, what it would do to the hospital's performance, and gossip. Negative rumors were more common than positive ones. Employees who reported negative rumors also reported more stress about the change than those who reported positive rumors or none. The authors proposed treating rumors as a way employees express their concerns during a change.

While you wait, these steps keep you working from what's confirmed.

• Ask questions with a date in them, such as "When do you expect to know which teams start first?"

• Keep a list of your open questions, who you asked, and when they expect to have an answer. Follow up on that date.

• An announcement can say which answers are still missing and when each one will be known. If yours didn't, ask for those dates.

• The questions colleagues ask each other show you what the announcement didn't answer. Collect them and send them to your manager in one message.

• When a rumor is about your work, ask the person who would know whether it's true. Don't change your work because of it until it's confirmed.

What If You're Worried about Your Job during a Change?

In the studies reviewed by Oreg, Vakola and Armenakis, employees' uncertainty about their job and their career after a change went with stronger intentions to leave. These steps get you answers about your own job.

• Ask your manager whether your role is changing, whether decisions about roles on your team are still being made, and when you'll know.

• If roles are being cut or combined, ask HR what the process is and what the dates are.

• Keep a current list of what you work on, its results, and who depends on it. You'll use it in conversations about the new structure and in any job search.

• Set yourself a date. If you still have no answer about your role by then, decide what you'll do next, including whether to look at other jobs.

How Do You Cope with Organizational Change?

Sandy Piderit argued that most employees respond to a proposed change with some mix of positive and negative reactions (Piderit, 2000, Academy of Management Review). A person can believe a change is needed and feel uneasy about it at the same time. In one of the interviews she described, a consultant whose firm was merging felt both excited and afraid, and that mix led him to look for information about the reasons for the merger and the chance of job cuts.

In the studies Oreg, Vakola and Armenakis reviewed, employees who took part in planning or carrying out a change tended to report more acceptance of it and to see it as less stressful. In one study they reviewed, involvement early in a change went with less stress about it and less withdrawal from work.

• Write down each worry as a question, such as who you'll report to or what you'll have to learn. Take each question to the person who can answer it.

• Ask where you can have a say, such as a pilot group, a feedback session, or testing the new process before it starts.

How Do You Get through a Reorg at Work?

A reorg can change who you report to, which team you're on, and what your role covers. Connie Wanberg and Joseph Banas followed employees through a set of changes in a reorganizing workplace (Wanberg and Banas, 2000, Journal of Applied Psychology). Employees who got more information about the changes, felt more able to cope with them, and took part in decisions about them were more open to the changes. Lower acceptance of the changes went with less job satisfaction, more irritation at work and stronger intentions to quit.

When you're getting through a reorg at work, these are the answers to get.

• Who you'll report to, and from what date.

• What your role covers in the new structure. Ask your current manager and your new one, and confirm it in writing.

• Who takes over any of your current projects that move to another team. List your projects and who depends on each one, and agree on the handover with your manager.

• Whether the new structure has roles or projects you want, and who decides who fills them.

If you manage people, your team may bring you the same questions. Plan what you'll tell them before you announce the change to your team.

How Do You Adapt to New Technology at Work?

Katherine Klein and Andrew Knight reviewed research on why organizations struggle to get people using a new technology or practice after deciding to adopt it (Klein and Knight, 2005, Current Directions in Psychological Science). Several of the reasons they listed affect the people expected to use it.

• New technology can have bugs, break down, and be awkward to use.

• Learning the new skills can be tedious or stressful.

• Learning the new way slows work down at first, and users and their managers may feel pressure to keep up their usual output.

They wrote that implementation takes money for training, ongoing help for users, and relaxed performance standards while people learn. They also pointed to a study in which manufacturing plants that put many high-quality implementation practices in place, such as training and technical help, were more successful at implementing a new manufacturing system.

To adapt to new technology at work, ask these questions before the launch date.

• When is the training, and is there time set aside to practice?

• Who do you contact for help in the first weeks?

• Do your targets change while you learn the new system?

After launch, write down what slows you down, with examples, and send it to whoever owns the system.

What If a New Boss Wants to Change Everything?

With a new boss who wants to change everything, find out what they're trying to fix before you respond to any one change.

• Ask what they want to fix first and what they've seen that led them to it.

• Tell them why the current processes are set up the way they are, and what depends on them.

• Ask which changes are decided and which are open to your input.

• Agree on your top priorities and confirm them in writing.

How Do You Push Back on a Change You Think Is Wrong?

Piderit warned that calling employees' objections "resistance" can be a way to dismiss potentially valid concerns about a change. Jeffrey Ford, Laurie Ford and Angelo D'Amelio argued that people who are committed to their organization's success may raise objections because a change threatens something they value (Ford, Ford and D'Amelio, 2008, Academy of Management Review). They suggested that people leading a change listen to comments, complaints and criticism for cues to adjust its pace, its scope or the order it happens in.

To push back on a new process at work, take these steps.

• Describe the specific problem with an example. Say what goes wrong, for whom, and what it costs in time or errors.

• Propose a change to the pace, the scope or the order of the rollout.

• Take it to the person who owns the decision, one on one or in writing.

• Ask which parts are decided and which are still open. If it's decided, ask what your team can adjust in how it does the work.

What If You're Asked to Lead a Change You Didn't Choose?

You may be asked to lead a project you didn't want, or to roll out a change you think is wrong.

• Before you agree, ask which decisions are yours and which are fixed.

• Put your concerns to the sponsor in writing, with an example and a proposed change.

• Ask what time, budget and help you'll get.

When you lead a change you disagree with, tell your team what's decided, the reasons you were given, and where their input can still change the plan.

How Do You Handle Conflicting Priorities during a Change?

During a reorg, or when you report to two people, you can get requests that can't both be done by the dates asked. When you have conflicting priorities from two managers, show both of them the conflict.

• List both requests with their deadlines and the time each one takes.

• Send the list to both managers. Ask them to agree on the order, or to tell you who decides.

• Confirm the order in writing.

What If Your Company Is Changing Things All the Time?

Jeremy Bernerth, Jack Walker and Stanley Harris developed a measure of change fatigue using data from change consultants and from a US manufacturer that had made several changes over three years (Bernerth, Walker and Harris, 2011, Work & Stress). Change fatigue went with exhaustion, and exhaustion went with lower commitment to the organization and stronger intentions to leave.

When leaders go quiet after announcing a change, a team can conclude the change no longer matters and stop caring mid-rollout.

To cope with constant change at work, find out where each change stands.

• Ask your manager which changes are still running, which matter most this quarter, and which have been dropped.

• Ask what can stop or wait while you take on the new one.

• Keep a list of the changes that affect your work and their dates, so you can show your manager what's competing for your time.

What Can You Do Today?

Check the announcement against the six questions and mark the ones it answers. Send the rest to your manager in one message, say you're asking so you can plan your work, and ask when they expect to have each answer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What If My Manager Doesn't Know Either?

Ask when they expect to know and who would know now. If they can't give you a start date or tell you what's in scope, ask them to take those questions to the person running the change. Write down the date they expect an answer, and follow up on that date.

Should I Start Looking for Another Job?

That depends on what you find out about your role. Ask your manager directly whether your role is changing and when decisions about roles will be made. Keep a current list of your work and its results either way, since you'll use it in conversations about the new structure and in any job search. Set a date, and if it passes with no answer, decide then.

How Do I Handle Rumors about the Change?

Check each rumor against what has been announced, and ask the person who would know whether it's true. Don't change your work because of a rumor until it's confirmed. Bordia and his colleagues proposed treating rumors as a way employees express their concerns during a change, so a rumor about jobs can show you a question to ask your manager.

Can I Support a Change and Still Have Doubts about It?

Yes. Piderit wrote that a person can believe a change is needed and still feel uneasy about it, or still think it hasn't been researched well enough. Turn each doubt into a specific question or problem, with an example. Take it to the person who can answer it or change the plan.

Is It Okay to Complain about the Change?

Yes. Ford, Ford and D'Amelio argued that complaining and criticizing can keep a change under discussion and give other people a chance to join the conversation about it. For a fix, the complaint has to reach the person who owns the decision. Bring that person the specific problem, an example and a proposed change.

If you're the one helping your team through a change, The DANCE System gives you 29 tools for planning what to tell people and when, in five phases.

Related Blog Posts:

Why ask "What's Staying the Same?

How Do I Get Specifics out of a Vague Announcement?

How Do I Find Out If a Change Affects My Team?

How Do I Find Out What a Change Means for My Daily Work?

Why Does a Team Stop Caring Mid-Rollout?

How Do I Get a Start Date out of a Change Announcement?

What Should I Ask about Support before a Change Starts?

How do I Announce a Change When Some Answers are MIssing?

How Do I Announce What's Changing and What's Not?

What Is the Team Asking That the Announcement Didn't Answer?

How to Announce a Change to Your Team

References

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2. Schweiger, D. M., & DeNisi, A. S. (1991). Communication with employees following a merger: A longitudinal field experiment. Academy of Management Journal, 34(1), 110-135. https://doi.org/10.2307/256304

3. Bordia, P., Jones, E., Gallois, C., Callan, V. J., & DiFonzo, N. (2006). Management are aliens! Rumors and stress during organizational change. Group & Organization Management, 31(5), 601-621. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601106286880

4. Piderit, S. K. (2000). Rethinking resistance and recognizing ambivalence: A multidimensional view of attitudes toward an organizational change. Academy of Management Review, 25(4), 783-794. https://doi.org/10.2307/259206

5. Wanberg, C. R., & Banas, J. T. (2000). Predictors and outcomes of openness to changes in a reorganizing workplace. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(1), 132-142. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.85.1.132

6. Klein, K. J., & Knight, A. P. (2005). Innovation implementation: Overcoming the challenge. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(5), 243-246. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00373.x

7. Ford, J. D., Ford, L. W., & D'Amelio, A. (2008). Resistance to change: The rest of the story. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 362-377. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2008.31193235

8. Bernerth, J. B., Walker, H. J., & Harris, S. G. (2011). Change fatigue: Development and initial validation of a new measure. Work & Stress, 25(4), 321-337. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2011.634280