Resisting change from within and without the organization

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to contribute further to the understanding of why and how employees resist workplace change. Building on previous studies exploring the link between worker subjectivity and workplace change, the paper highlights both the spatial and temporal dimensions of tactics of resistance.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on case study evidence from an Australian credit union that had implemented significant changes to its service strategy, and identifies employee responses to these changes.FindingsThe case study identifies the way in which tradition and place can be discursive resources with which employees resist changes to work practices and roles which threaten to disrupt workplace and gender identities.Originality/valueTo date, the literature has focused on tactics of resistance that draw on temporal and spatial narratives from inside the organization. This paper extends the understanding by showing how individuals also draw on narratives from outside the organization to resist workplace change.