EP 52 - Reactance to Change

Reactance is like that feeling you get when someone tells you what to do and you just want to do the opposite! 

TRANSCRIPT

Reactance to Change

“Reactance” is like that feeling you get when someone tells you what to do, and you just want to do the opposite. It’s a natural reaction when people feel like their choices are being taken away.

Let’s say your boss introduces a new rule or process without any warning or explanation. It might feel like you’re being ordered around, and that natural urge to resist kicks in. That’s reactance in action.

If workers feel like they’re being told what to do without any say in the matter, they might push back against the new ideas. It’s not that they don’t want to help or that they’re being stubborn; they just don’t like feeling controlled.

The trick to avoiding this is to include them in the process. If workers understand why a change is needed and have a say in how it happens, that urge to resist can turn into a willingness to help. It’s all about making people feel like they’re part of the change, not just being told what to do. That way, reactance doesn’t have to be a roadblock; it can be something you work with, not against.