Corporate Leadership Council

Checklist to Manage Through the Five Stages of Emotional Response to Change

Tool Summary

Source:

Enterprise Solutions Competency Center; Elizabeth Kubler-Ross; Corporate Leadership Council research.

Purpose:

This checklist uses Kubler-Ross’s model, which identifies the human emotional response to change over time, to outline common employee responses, and to make suggestions for how to manage these reactions.

User Guidelines:

§  Ensure managers understand the five emotional responses to change—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance

§  Use the middle column to understand how employees demonstrate various stages of change

§  Use the right-hand column suggestions to address employees’ reactions as the change progresses and they move through some or all of the five emotional responses

Context:

During times of business uncertainty, such as during a merger or acquisition, employees may have a variety of reactions to the change. Engagement, morale, and productivity may decline as employees wonder how the change will affect them personally.

Companies must ensure that managers are well equipped to communicate with and interact with employees on a regular basis to help mitigate the negative effects that may accompany change. Managers have an incredibly powerful role during change given their daily interactions with employees. Their ability to recognize and proactively respond to certain behavior driven by emotional responses to change can mitigate negative responses to change.

This model outlines five human emotional reactions to change (shown in gray ovals in the figure below), which typically occur in sequence, and the checklist helps companies prepare their managers to support employees throughout the change.

Commitment Over Time in Context of a Change

Checklist to Manage through the Five Stages of

Emotional Response to Change

Checklist to Manage Through the Five Stages of Emotional Response to Change

Emotional Response / Employee Reaction / Suggested Manager Response
Denial / Individual believes that the problem has corrected itself and will be over soon / ¨  Review the business case for the change
Individual displays apathy and numbness (e.g., “I don’t care what happens” or “It doesn’t matter to me”) / ¨  Emphasize that the change will happen
Individual tries to rationalize the change away (e.g., “They’re not seriously going to lay off employees”) / ¨  Allow time for change to sink in
Anger / Individual tries to sabotage the change effort / ¨  Acknowledge legitimacy of anger
Individual tends to “shoot the messenger” / ¨  Distinguish between feelings and inappropriate behavior
Individual withdraws from the team / ¨  Redirect the blame from the change agent to the real reason necessitating the change (goals of the organization/business case)
Bargaining / Individual tries to “cut a deal” to spare himself or herself / ¨  Focus on how the individual or his/her team will benefit from the change
Individual suggests other concerns to redirect problem solving away from change / ¨  Keep problem solving focused on the root cause
Depression / Individual expresses a loss of control over the work environment / ¨  Provide a series of specific next steps and follow up frequently
Individual’s absenteeism increases / ¨  Reinforce positive actions the individual can take to adjust to the change
Acceptance / Individual expresses ownership for solutions / ¨  Use the individual as a coach or mentor for others
Individual focuses on achieving benefits promised by the change / ¨  Provide recognition for his/her efforts