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Tumbler Ridge Counselling Services |
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Change In The Workplace
Change is always happening. It is the one thing for which we can be certain. It simply is an inevitable part of work life in the new millennium. Why is it that some change is so difficult to take? And why do some people appear to cope well with change and others do not?
Change that is forced upon us is especially difficult to deal with. We naturally want to resist it and dig in our heels. Although our reluctance to change is a natural human response, it doesn’t always help us. When we get stuck in resisting change, it tends to work against us. As a result of the change, we can easily build resentment, anger and frustration. It can leave us feeling powerless. We become drained by all of the negative emotional feelings. We don’t enjoy work anymore and we lose our sense of purpose and creativity in our work. After a major change, it is very possible to end up doing a worse job, rather than a better one. How do we make the most of a change that we ourselves did not want? When change is hard, how can I adjust to it?
Dealing with change always begins with letting go of something. Change always involves an emotional transition that few people may recognize. Change happens at one point in time but the emotional transition is a process that is worked through afterwards. In any successful transition from the old to the new, the first step is recognizing that change begins with letting go of something (and sometimes many things).
Letting go commonly brings feelings of loss, grief and guilt. We may feel anxiety about the future. This is a normal part of any transition. But that doesn’t mean its easy. Once a person has let go, their energy can be used for more productive things. After letting go, a person moves into a "neutral zone", a kind of no-man’s-land between the old and the new. It is a period of time where the old way is gone, but the new doesn’t feel comfortable yet. This limbo land may be frightening and some will want to escape it.
It is after the uncomfortable "neutral zone" that we can begin the stage of "new beginnings". People make the new beginning only after they have first "let go" and spent some time in the "neutral zone". Most people want to start with the new beginning rather than end with it.
Change is a process with different stages. Transition involves "letting go", a "neutral zone" of uncertainty and then the stage of "new beginnings". When we focus on how to successfully "let go" it will help us to move forward and feel better about it. It will increase our enjoyment and performance in work.
Feel free to send your comments or questions to Russell Webb at trcs@spcs.bc.ca.
INTERNET RESOURCES:
- Books at Amazon.com on "Dealing with Change in the Workplace" http://www.buildingyourself.com/change.htm
- "Dealing With Change and Uncertainty" - article http://www.salesconcepts.com/nl0298a.htm
- "How You Can Handle Change Better" - article http://www.wmbridges.com/articles/content/how_you_can.html
Canadian Job Search/Career Transition Sites:
- The Monster Job Board of Canada -offers free access to thousands of jobs in Canada. http://english.monster.ca/
- Canada's Job Bank - provides a cross-Canada listing of job opportunities placed with HRDC. Job seekers can search by occupation and geography in order to help them find suitable employment. http://jb-ge.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/job-html/provResE.html
- Youth Resource Network of Canada http://www.youth.gc.ca/
- Canadian Career Page - http://www.canadiancareers.com/
- Electronic Labour Exchange - recruitment tool to match work to people and people to work faster. http://www.ele-spe.org/
- Netjobs Information Services - Employment listing and resume on-line on the world wide web. http://www.netjobs.com/index.html
