The acceptance of change and the willingness to embrace it is largely dependent on the experiences that employees have had in the past. No one generation is more or less likely to resist change and it is fair to anticipate resisters to change from all four generations.
In a Traditionalist’s world, change only happened when there was a good reason for it. The old adage ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ was often applied. Change was not undertaken lightly and, if things were working, they remained the same. For change to be accepted, it must be linked to how it will benefit the organization and must fix an existing problem.
Baby Boomers tend to be cautious of change. Their reluctance isn’t a result of not wanting to seek improvements, but as a result of the fact that many Baby Boomers lost their jobs during the recessions of the ‘80s and ‘90s, which made them wary of broad organizational changes. They also had to endure “flavour of the month” leadership changes and shifts back-and-forth in strategy which translated into a lack of enthusiasm for new changes. In principle, Baby Boomer employees may not resist the change but they may be less excited about
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They want to know the benefits of change, most notably to them, and what they will gain by adopting a new approach. Resistance occurs if they believe the change will hinder their ability to achieve results. If involved in the planning process, Gen Xers will focus on setting targets for how performance can increase as a result of the change.
Gen Ys have grown up in a world where change is constant and where technology changes every 3-6 months. This has translated into a culture where Gen Y employees expect organizational change to occur quickly and frequently. Resistance to change happens if the initiative is entirely driven from the top or if there is a sense that the change is too minor and insignificant to make an