Resistance to organisational change among employees in an industrial company : a case study

• The aim of this case study was to survey attitudes among employees to the management of a change process in a large industrial company in southern Sweden. For three years, a group of production managers, union representatives and human resource personnel met to discus and plan the change. It consisted of a new schedule for shift work hours. Due to new EU laws, the duration of work hours had to decrease. Night shifts had to be better planned. The overall purpose was to increase productivity. The present study will serve as a baseline study for evaluation of future changes. The employees’ understanding and acceptance for the change have been studied through questionnaires, interviews and group discussions. The social situation of the employees affected their acceptance of the change. Their feelings of involvement were limited because they felt the union was not representing the workforce. There was a lack of feedback from the project group to individual employees for suggestions they had formulated and submitted. During the long period of discussion and planning of the change, the employees experienced feelings of uncertainness that caused stress symptoms. The results will be discussed in relation to theoretical models for strategic change processes.

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