Attitudes Towards Organizational Change: What is the Role of Employees' Stress and Commitment?

Occupational stress and organizational change are now widely accepted as two major issues in organizational life. The current study explores the linkage between employees' attitudes towards organizational change and two of the most significant constructs in organizational behaviour; occupational stress and organizational commitment. A total of 292 participants completed ASSET, a new Organizational Screening Tool, which, amongst other things, measures workplace stress and organizational commitment and a measure assessing attitudes towards organizational change. The results were in the expected direction showing negative correlations between occupational stressors and attitudes to change indicating that highly stressed individuals demonstrate decreased commitment and increased reluctance to accept organizational change interventions. The most significant impact on attitudes to change was coming from bad work relationships emphasizing the importance of that occupational stressor on employees' attitudes towards change. The results did not support the role of organizational commitment as a moderator in the relationship between occupational stress and attitudes to change.