Organizations often experience a range of emotional and behavioral responses from employees during major change initiatives. The widely recognized change curve, adapted from Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s five stages of grief, helps leaders understand and manage these reactions as they impact productivity and engagement over time.
Key Insights
- The change curve maps five common emotional stages experienced by employees during organizational transitions.
- Employee productivity and engagement typically decline through the early stages of change as individuals use defense mechanisms and resist letting go of the past.
- Progression to acceptance depends largely on how effectively the change is managed, with successful navigation leading to long-term adoption and integration into organizational processes.
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The change curve originates from the work of Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, who developed the five stages of grief to describe responses to loss. While her original research focused on grief associated with the death of a loved one, the model has since been extended into many other contexts, especially organizational change.
Why has it been adopted so widely? Because research continues to show that the curve helps us better understand the emotional states employees may experience during workplace change initiatives.
The Five Stages of the Change Curve
The change curve outlines five stages:
- Shock and Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
Over time, as represented on the horizontal axis of the curve, productivity and engagement fluctuate. When change first occurs, productivity and engagement tend to decline. It is only after moving through several emotional stages that individuals begin the upswing toward acceptance.
Let’s look more closely at each stage.
Shock and Denial
The first stage is shock and denial. When change is introduced, individuals often react by putting up defense mechanisms. These defenses help deflect the reality of what is happening.
It is human nature to cling to the past and to the expectations we previously held. Thoughts may sound like:
- This cannot be happening.
- This is not real.
- Things will go back to normal.
During this stage, productivity often drops sharply. People are mentally and emotionally resisting the new reality rather than engaging with it.
Anger
As reality sets in, shock and denial give way to anger.
Employees may begin to feel fear or frustration. The change initiative can feel overwhelming or out of control. There may be a belief that the change is destined to fail:
- This will never work.
- Why are we being asked to do this?
- This is going to spiral out of control.
These reactions often come with unrealistic expectations about failure. Productivity and engagement continue to decline because energy is being spent on emotional resistance rather than adaptation.
Bargaining
After anger comes bargaining. At this stage, individuals attempt to salvage parts of the past.
Questions during bargaining might include:
- Can we take the path of least resistance?
- Can we negotiate a compromise?
- Can we keep some of the old ways while adopting the new ones?
There is still reluctance to fully let go. Productivity and engagement remain low because individuals are trying to negotiate rather than commit to the change.
Depression
Eventually, people reach a point where they realize that defensive mechanisms and bargaining are not working. The change is real and unavoidable.
This stage may involve:
- Sadness
- Regret
- Demotivation
- A sense of loss
In the workplace, this can appear as disengagement or low morale. However, it is important to recognize that these responses are natural. Research repeatedly confirms that such reactions are common and expected during significant change.
Acceptance
The good news is that most individuals eventually reach acceptance.
In this stage, people begin to:
- Come to terms with the change
- Open themselves to new possibilities
- Explore favorable opportunities created by the change
Productivity and engagement begin to rise again. Employees shift from resisting change to integrating it into their daily work.
For leaders, acceptance also means formalizing the change within organizational processes. This step is crucial to prevent reverting back to old habits. Once the change is accepted, it becomes the new way of doing business, serving stakeholders, and meeting organizational goals.
There Is No Fixed Timeline
One important point about the change curve is that there is no designated timeline. You will not see a predictable sequence such as:
- First five days: shock and denial
- Next week: anger
The duration of each stage varies. A key factor influencing the pace of movement through the stages is how well the change process is managed. Effective leadership and clear communication can make it easier for employees to move toward acceptance. Poorly managed change can prolong resistance.
Final Thoughts on Navigating Change
The change curve provides a powerful lens for understanding emotional responses to organizational change. Shock, anger, bargaining, and even depression are not signs of failure. They are natural, research-supported reactions.
By recognizing these stages, both employees and leaders can better navigate transitions. Awareness allows individuals to move through the stages more intentionally and ultimately reach acceptance, where productivity and engagement begin to recover.
Change is rarely easy. But understanding the emotional journey makes it far more manageable.
