The effects of change programs on employees’ emotions

This article focuses on an organization that has spent many years attempting to make fundamental changes to its corporate identity and the ideals on which the organization was built. The objective is to discuss the effects of change programs on employees’ emotions. The study shows that the change programs have resulted in employees exhibiting signs of depression. The employees have lost their trust in the ability to turn the organization; they see no future within the organization; they tend to concentrate on failures instead of successes; and they feel emotionally fatigued. The paper discusses how emotions can become an obstacle to change and how people that are unable to mobilize and act in a changed way become less receptive to discussions about change.