THE CAUSES OF RESISTANCE TO CHANGE AMONG THE EMPLOYEES OF DIFFERENT GENERATIONS: THEORETICAL INSIGHTS

Abstract

Today, managing the resistance to change among different generations of employees is a challenge for many organisations, as each generation has its own values, behaviours, working styles and expectations, which results in different reactions to change in the organisation. Therefore, identifying the reasons for resistance to change among different generations of employees becomes one of the keys to success for organisations to improve and remain competitive. This paper aims to provide theoretical insights into the causes of resistance to change among different generations of employees. The scientific literature analysis was used to achieve the paper's aim. The findings suggest grouping the reasons for employee resistance to change into two groups: first, situational reasons, which are described by changes in organizational culture, increased workload, lack of support during changes, and inadequate communication, and second, individual employee reasons, which are associated with the employee's characteristics, such as perceptions, needs, beliefs, and values. A significant variable that affects employee resistance to change is their age, therefore the reasons for employee resistance to change of different generations differ. An analysis of the scientific literature has shown that the main differences are that older generation employees seeking job security, passively resist change, while younger generation employees resist change when they do not see the benefits of change for themselves and the organization.