Psychological Aspects of Employee Resistance during the Process of Organizational Change

Today, to increase efficiency, organizations are automating processes by introducing information technologies. Research shows that the attitude of employees to this kind of change is quite diverse, and there are often cases when resistance arises from them, which is characterized by the scientific term "resistance to change" (Resistance to change). At the same time, digital transformation changes the usual foundations in the organization changes the working conditions, and at the head of the transformation should be a leader who can convey to employees the full benefits of digitalization and contribute to the adoption of changes. This work aims to determine the influence of leadership style on employee behavior, including resistance to change, during the digitalization process, using the example of a wholesaler of nonmetallic materials. In the course of the study, a survey was conducted of 47 employees of an organization in the field of wholesale trade in nonmetallic materials, and the hypothesis of differences in leadership styles of managers in different departments was confirmed. Then, 9 qualitative interviews were conducted, the results of the content analysis of which formed the basis for creating a table of 3 clusters of employees (Sizes: n1 = 10, n2 = 20, n3 = 17). Clusters are formed based on the employee's place in the functional process, the leadership style of the respective leader, and the presence of reasons for resistance to change. The cases of resistance to change were also considered, and the theoretical connection between the Laissez-Faire leadership style and J. Stacy Adams's Theory of Inequity was revealed.