HCBS Training

Why People Resist Change

 Sometimes a team may worry that staff or people supported will refuse to adopt a new practice. The term used to describe this is called resistance. If a team is concerned about resistance, cultural or management issues may need to be assessed. It can be helpful to think about why people are not ready to change. There are many different reasons why staff members and people supported may not want to start working on person-centered practices.

  • A lack of trust that ideas will be accepted and used
  • People feel they do not have a choice
  • Stress or anxiety due to other events
  • Conflict between people at work
  • Past efforts to make change have failed
  • The way the practices are presented do not fit a person’s cultural values or beliefs
  • People feel they are being forced to change how they work
  • Feeling that someone is judging them in some way
  • Feeling that “nothing I do makes a difference”
  • Management or supervisory challenges
An iceberg. The top 20% of the iceberg that is above water has the statement resist change. The bottom 80% of the icebert that is under water has the following words: lack of trust, stress and anxiety, helplessness, conflicts, lack of choice, past failures, feeling forced, and judged.