Cynicism and Change

Research has shown

"...the integrative influence of content, context, process and individual differences on organisational change efforts. While it was established that employees do not develop cynical feelings about change deliberately, cynicism is often seen to develop in response to confusion about change, poor perception of leaders' competence, organisational history of change and unknown consequences which threaten an individual's psychological world. An employee's tolerance for such ambiguity is therefore seeking to influence their reaction to an experienced change attempt..."

Thurlow et al as quoted by Taryn Haynes-Smart, 2010)

More research shows:

"...Change success hinges on management's ability to consider all change factors (content, process, context, and individual differences) when planning change efforts...... even if individuals have high levels of cynicism, they are more likely to commit to change if they are properly prepared. Cynicism about change is often seen as the result of a loss of faith in either the change agents or a history of unsuccessful change attempts; and as such a trial-and-error approach to implementing change is detrimental not only to an organisation's employees but also to the outcome of change itself..."

Walker et al as quoted by Taryn Haynes-Smart, 2010

"...Cynicism is a common reaction amongst employees during organisational change...... change-specific cynicism has a significant impact on one's intention to resist change and, if not addressed, resistance is often the next step for employees...... the role communication plays in either fuelling cynicism, specifically the impact of the perceived quality of information as measured by timeliness, usefulness, appropriateness, adequacy and favourableness..."

Qian et al  as quoted by Taryn Haynes-Smart, 2010

Furthermore,

"...the majority of employees considered change to be difficult and expressed high levels of anxiety and cute awareness of negative outcomes despite displaying positive attitudes change.....All groups talked about the problematic nature of communications and participation during organisational change.....Individuals reported not being given sufficient notice and information regarding the changes in a sufficiently convenient way, emphasising the importance of high quality, frequent communications during change..."

Jones et al as quoted by Taryn Haynes-Smart, 2010)