Undergoing change can be a very nerve-racking and uncomfortable experience, regardless of when and how it happens.
As more of us return to the office, this change can be even harder to comes to terms with. After all, isn't this what we wanted? A return to normal life?
But all change can be difficult to manage - regardless of how we position it in our minds (whether it's "positive" or "negative"). After all, COVID-19 has meant that some of us are experiencing a change in our working day, working from home or now returning back to the office. You may be struggling with the change in your schedule that this has prompted. Or you may be struggling, as many of us are, to adjust to the return to normality, or the limbo that seems to sit somewhere between it: because things aren't exactly as they were before, they're different.
From a professional and personal perspective, responding to change can be very tricky. However, change can teach you more about yourself, about which coping mechanisms benefit you and which harm you. It can also be decisive in terms of advancement and promotion opportunities in your organisation.
And that's why it's so important to recognise when you are being resistant to change and to proactively try to take steps to combat this. We have two options when it comes to change: to resist and avoid, or to proactively tackle it, head-on.
Below are six key warning signs to watch out for so that you don't become a victim of change.
1. You think it’s unfair and inappropriate
Just like personal lives, professional lives change as well. Reacting to change like something that is uninvited and designed as a personal attack is a clear sign that you are taking the matter too personally.
What this means at work:
Change initiatives are most often designed to affect entire departments or organisations, focusing on processes and strategy. They very rarely have anything to do with the individual, so if you are feeling a great sense of personal injustice, you are likely focusing too much on your immediate environment and missing the greater aims of the change you are going through.
Tips for combatting this: Speak to your manager. It may be that the reason for the change was poorly communicated, or that you don't fully understand why the change needs to happen. Speaking to your manager can help alleviate some of your concerns that the change is being directed at you and can help broaden your perspective on why the change needs to take place.
2. Overthinking the consequences of the change
The reality is that none of us can predict the future. Our brains, however, are wired to try and risk assess the various options and try and identify the right path for us to move forwards. There's nothing wrong with this in theory, it's how we survived as cavemen and women, but in today's modern world it often leads to us overthinking and focussing on the negative outcomes, rather than giving the positive outcomes the same amount of attention and space.
Are you having sleepless nights about the new supervisor leading you? Are you constantly thinking of ways to impress or resist them? Do you foresee a working environment in which you have to re-learn how to do your job as if it were your first day?
Whilst the advice "don't overthink it" is true, it's not necessarily helpful if you're already deep in overthinking it. So try this instead:
Tips for combatting this: Set aside time for reflecting on the change, rather than spending the whole day worrying about it in the background and use this time to make a SWOT analysis of the change, giving yourself the same time and space to focus on the opportunities and strengths of the change as you do the weaknesses and the threats.
3. Finding yourself being stubborn
This usually happens when you're trying to prove that change is unnecessary or destined for failure. You're too stubborn to admit that things haven't been done in the most effective way possible, so you employ stubbornness tactics to prove that things don't need to change at all. This might manifest as working extra hours to maintain the original delivery rate and show that things are working just fine as they are? Or perhaps you forget to join the training meeting, showing you how to use a new system or process that the change has brought in. Whatever it is, if you find yourself being stubborn about the change, take a step back.
Stubbornness can often be due to the fact you don't see the point of the change. The old adage 'if it ain't broke' rings true here. Our stubborn attitude towards change is usually born from the underlying opinion that the change isn't needed.
This attitude can lead to severe levels of stress and fatigue, which can be highly detrimental to your performance. Worse still, it can make you lose your confidence and start doubting your capabilities, which will only lead to more stress and dissatisfaction.
Tips for combatting this: Make a list of all the things that will improve with this change. Perhaps work with your manager on this, by asking them to highlight some of the biggest benefits of the change to you. On the other side of it, make a list of problems you had with the current system or process. When you see those two things side by side, it may ease your feelings of unnecessary change and help you begin to see that the change might help you, after all!
4. Resenting colleagues & superiors
Even those who 'give in' to change and accept the fact that it will happen can become very resentful towards it. As a result, people often end up reacting in negative ways that include resenting immediate supervisors, as well as colleagues.
The more the person in question is seen as being responsible for the change, the more they can become the object of frustration for those who are having a difficult time accepting it. However, this not only serves to damage your relationship with your boss, it will also leave you feeling drained.
Tips for combatting this: If you find yourself feeling resentment towards your manager, than chances are you haven't received enough communication about the change and feel as though you're being pushed into it. At this point, it's a good idea to take a step back and ask for more information. Ask your manager or supervisor to hold a workshop where you and your colleagues can ask questions about the change and have them answered. Once you have a better understanding of what's in it for you, as well as your managers motivations surrounding the change, you may feel less resentful towards them.
5. Trying to control everything
People often feel very unstable in their new working environments and develop coping mechanisms that can be very unhealthy.
In light of COVID-19, this might take the form of drawing up intense schedules for your working day. Whilst you may feel as though this makes you more productive, failure to comply with these self-imposed rules often leads to irrational anger at having "lost control" of the situation. Putting too much on your to-do list will have the opposite outcome, leaving you feel as though you have had an unproductive day if you do not manage to tick everything off the list
Tips for combatting this: Focus on what you can control, first of all, and then break this down. Let's say the change is you are now working from home. You can control your schedule, so it's a good thing to put some thought into how you want to spend your day. However, rather than writing out an hour-by-hour sheet of how you should spend your time, give yourself a list of a maximum of three things to achieve that day, in order of priority. If you can tick off just one high-priority item in a day, you can count that as a good and productive day.
6. Rejecting advice & suggestions
Traditional power gaps have changed over time, and it is now commonplace for managers and employees to brainstorm ideas in a communal fashion, ensuring everyone's voice is heard. This contributes to finding the best possible solutions to problems regardless of role or status.
If you find yourself snapping at peoples’ ideas or dismissing notions before even considering them, this can often be a sign that you are having trouble dealing with changing circumstances. Often, it is a sense of mistrust that causes you to automatically reject others' opinions, particularly because they may lead to more "unknowns".
Tips for combatting this: One of the ways you can try not to shoot down others' ideas is the "yes, and" technique. Rather than beginning your sentence with a rebuttal of their idea, you start your sentence with "Yes, and...". Whilst it sounds simple, it's effective. This technique forces you to try and build upon it.
Know that change impacts us all, but we control how we react to change
People can get very anxious about change and often respond too abruptly. Becoming too anxious and taking hasty decisions can affect the quality of your work, as well as your relationships with team members and other colleagues.
Ultimately, change will happen whether we want it to or not. Whether it's something simple, like a switch in software, or something bigger, like an organisational restructure, knowing how we respond to and cope with change can help as grow as people, as well as professionals.
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