In my last post I introduced a series called I’m not sure that means what you think it does. The series of posts will examines common change management related phrases that I don’t think are as helpful as we think they are. In this post, I examine the phrase “change is a good thing”.

What people intend to communicate

I think people say change is a good thing for many well-intentioned reasons. They may be trying to reassure others, and possibly themselves, that things will be OK. They want to let others know that good things will be coming their way as a result of the impending changes. Perhaps they want to convey a sense of safety, security, and positivity during times of change.

What people may unintentionally communicate

In my experience, change is a good thing is usually offered up after someone has shared how they’re struggling or not totally on board with a change. An unspoken implication is that, since change is good, if you’re having a hard time you must be part of the problem, not a team player, or resistant. In an environment like this, you quickly learn that only certain thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about a change are welcome. A simple Google search of “toxic positivity” will provide you plenty of information about this phenomenon and its negative impact in the workplace.

Since change is good, if you’re having a hard time you must be part of the problem, not a team player, or resistant.

Closing thoughts

Change is usually value neutral, not inherently good or bad. It can also be a mix of good and bad. For each individual, a variety of factors help determine if a change is good or not. Some that come to mind for me are:

• What the change is.
• How involved they were in planning the change and how long they’ve been involved.
• How much or little they know about it.
• The impact the change will have on them (job duties, does it eliminate things they were the expert/go to person on, etc.), and others that are important to them.
• How much change they are already dealing with (inside and outside work).
• How previous change initiatives have been handled in their workplace.

Change is usually value neutral, not inherently good or bad.

Thank you for reading. Please post your thoughts and comments below about “change is a good thing”. Until next time, take care and keep up the good work!

Mike