Depression
If the previous stage has a negative outcome, people will be in a state of depression, depression, uncertainty about the future and lack of energy: “Why try? It won’t lead to anything good anyway.” In this case, by depression we mean a defensive reaction, not a mental disorder.
In a company, signs of depression include:
- general mood of apathy;
- an increase in sick leave and absences from work;
- increased staff turnover.
Tasks at this stage:
- recognize existing difficulties and problems;
- eliminate remaining fears, doubts and indecisiveness;
- help people get out of depression, support any attempts at active action and provide positive feedback;
- show employees a personal example of involvement in the change project;
Bargain
This is an attempt to postpone the inevitable. We try to “make a deal” with management or with ourselves in order to delay changes or find a way out of the situation: “If I promise to do this, will you not allow these changes in my life?” For example, an employee starts working overtime in an attempt to avoid an upcoming layoff.
Bargaining is a sign that people are already starting to look towards the future
. They have not yet given up their fears, but are already looking for new opportunities and negotiating.
It is very important here:
- direct people's energy in a positive direction, do not reject their ideas;
- stimulate brainstorming and strategy sessions;
- Help employees evaluate their careers and opportunities in new ways.
Negation
At the initial stage of denial, people are usually afraid that changes will be negative for them personally
: “The company may need it, but I don’t need it! I have stable and familiar responsibilities.” Denial can manifest itself in the following:
- people do not come to meetings dedicated to the change project under any convenient pretext;
- they do not participate in discussions;
- they are indifferent or demonstratively busy with routine bureaucratic duties.
What you can do at this stage:
- provide as much information as possible through various communication channels about the goals and reasons for the changes;
- give people time to understand the changes;
- stimulate discussion and participation of people.
Crisis: reaction and overcoming
Unforeseen circumstances also arise, for example, serious illness, death of a relative, betrayal of a loved one, planned layoffs in the company. Such significant events are called “crises.”
Depending on their severity, the flurry of emotions they evoke varies. But the sequence of the human condition remains unchanged: from disbelief that this could happen to him to the decision to radically change something.
“Crises” are neutral; they are neither good nor bad. But if you are not prepared, you can make losses:
- loss of control over the current situation. Living with learned helplessness. Problems are not worth attention, but they cannot be solved;
- loss of social connections. The victim behaves repulsively, loses friends and acquaintances;
- finance. You can get into trouble with your spending, waste all your leftovers, and not control your expenses;
- career growth. Occupational stress arises and interferes with the development of work skills;
- workplace.
With them, some protective mechanisms are activated in the human psyche, which manifest themselves in the same way in most people.
Each of us may experience a stage in life when it seems that problems simply cannot be avoided. It’s good if they are all common and solvable. In this case, it is important not to give up and go towards the intended goal, but there are situations when practically nothing depends on a person - in any case, he will suffer and worry.
Psychologists call such situations a crisis and advise taking attempts to overcome it very seriously. Otherwise, its consequences will not allow a person to build a happy future and learn certain lessons from the problem.
Each person reacts to a crisis differently. It depends on inner strength, upbringing and often on social status. It is impossible to predict what an individual's reaction will be to stress and a crisis situation. It happens that at different periods of life the same person can react to stress differently.
They laugh at the truth because of pride:
Ridicule, mockery, caustic humiliation - this is the first absolutely unconstructive carnal reaction, not “essentially true,” but simply “about nothing,” a la: “How can you be 100% sure of any truth?” or “Do you really think that something has been revealed to you that has not been revealed to us!?” or “Who are you to teach us these things!?” or “For me too, Luther was found...”.
This is exactly how the temporarily blinded Jewish people still think about Christian beliefs in the apparently Jewish Messiah [2 Cor. 3:14].
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Kübler-Ross E.
About death and dying. - M.: Sofia, 2001. - Sarah M. Broom.
Milestones (English) // Time: magazine. — 2004-08-30. — ISSN 0040-781X. - Robert Kastenbaum, Christopher M. Moreman.
Photo Credits // Death, Society, and Human Experience. - Twelfth Edition. | New York: Routledge, 2020. | Revised edition of Death, society, and human experience, c2012.: Routledge, 2018-03-29. - pp. 539-539. — ISBN 9781315232058. - Paul K. Maciejewski, Baohui Zhang, Susan D. Block, Holly G. Prigerson.
An Empirical Examination of the Stage Theory of Grief // JAMA. — 2007-02-21. - Vol. 297, iss. 7. - P. 716. - ISSN 0098-7484. - doi:10.1001/jama.297.7.716. - Vasilyuk F. E.
Survive grief. — About the human in man: collection / ed. I.T. Frolov. - M.: Politizdat, 1991.
Criticism
Criticism of the model is based on the lack of empirical research and data that would support the stages described by Kübler-Ross. Also, the Kübler-Ross model is a product of a certain culture and a certain time, and therefore may not be applicable to people of other cultures. This view was expressed by Professor Robert J. Kastenbaum, an expert in the field of gerontology, aging and death. Kastenbaum spoke about the following points[3]:
- The existence of stages has not been demonstrated;
- A sequential transition from the first stage to the last has not been proven;
- The limitations of the method were not acknowledged;
- The line between description and prescription is blurred;
- The characteristics of the environment in which the patients were located are not taken into account.
In 2003, Paul Maciejewski of Yale University conducted a study that resulted in both data consistent with the Kübler-Ross model and data inconsistent with it[4].
In Russian psychology, the topic of grief was studied by F. E. Vasilyuk, who described the five phases of grief [5].
Anger
It is at this stage that it is important to understand that it is not the changes themselves that cause anger in people, but those losses.
, which they carry behind them: “This is unfair! No! I can't accept this!
As a result, employees at this stage can:
- endlessly complaining instead of working;
- fall into accusations and criticism;
- be more irritated than usual, cling to little things.
In fact, openly expressed anger indicates people are engaged, and that's a good thing! This is an opportunity for managers to allow employees to let off steam from strong emotions, while at the same time examining the skepticism and doubts expressed - they may not be unfounded.
Some recommendations at this stage:
- first listen to people without trying to dissuade them, acknowledge their feelings;
- suggest ways to make up for the losses that employees are afraid of, for example, additional training, retraining, flexible hours, etc.;
- Encourage people to focus their work energy on implementing change instead of criticizing and empty talk;
- stop outright sabotage, but do not respond to aggression with aggression.
