As cited by Fugate and Kinicki (2008) emotions are defined as:
“responses to information or experience that alter internal cognitive and / or psychological states and they are generally categorized and analyzed in terms of their positive and negative characters”.
An alternate definition of emotion as defined by Nadler and Lowery (2009):
"Emotions are responses and/or behaviours that express feelings towards an environmental stimuli or a triggering object".
In relation to change, O’Conner and Fiol (2006) are one of many resources that link the emotional reactions to change, to that of the stages experienced in death and dying.
Although individual reactions to change will differ, employees generally proceed through a typical set of phases:
- Naive confidence
- Denial
- Informed hopelessness/depression
- Informed hopefulness and
- Confident completion
In addition, although not conclusive, common emotions linked to organizational change within the health care system are:
- Fear
- Insecurity
- Loss of control
- Separation or isolation
- Frustration and
- Anxiety
O’Connor, E. J., & Fiol, C. M. (2006). Handling Emotional Reactions to Change. The Physician Executive, November/December, 78-80.
Within organizational structures, emotions are carefully constrained and change programs focus on systems and procedures rather than on human and cultural elements. Philips (2007) encourages health care organizations to recognize the value of their human resources and to pay heed to the “unwritten terms and conditions” of their “psychological contract with employees”.
The following video discusses the element of fear when dealing with change.