Changes in how a company works can be scary, but they can also bring chances for good things to happen. A recent study from the University of Washington shows that how people feel about these changes at first depends on where they stand in their work group’s social order. This social order is like an informal ranking of workers based on how much others respect and look up to them.
Once this ranking is set in a company, it’s hard to change. People tend to act according to their ranking: Those with higher rank are more likely to be assertive, while those with lower rank tend to go along with what others say.
Position in the hierarchy
The study finds that big changes that shake up how tasks are done—these are changes that make a group rethink how they work and need everyone to put in more of their own time and energy—affect all workers, no matter their rank. But the way these changes affect workers depends on where they stand in the ranking.
“Hierarchy reinforces itself,” the authors explain. “The highest-status person has more latitude to do what they want. They have more visibility and more respect than a lower-status person. If a lower-status person speaks out of turn, it’s not going to be favorable to them. We started this whole project trying to figure out the contexts in which lower-status individuals are more likely to overcome the reinforcing nature of status hierarchy and move up within their organization.”
To tackle issues during transitions, employees must work together and help each other. Those with higher status are good at adjusting to changes and supporting others. Right after a change in tasks, though, these higher-status individuals worry about losing their advantages in the new situation.
Losing status
“The fear of losing status gets higher-status people to start thinking inwardly,” the researchers explain. “It’s human nature when you feel that you’re losing something, you start looking at what you can do to fix it. We found that they withdrew from helping others and spent their additional time trying to develop and learn so they could be more competent. During that period, the team starts seeing that person as having less status.”
People with lower status feel like they don’t have much to lose. They view change as a chance to break free from limitations. These individuals have felt discouraged because they thought their contributions didn’t matter to the team. Change gives them an opportunity to take part and feel like they belong, which helps them move up in status.
“Lower-status employees want to contribute by being more generous,” the authors continue, “By being more generous, you’re going to gain status. There are two key ways to gain status in a group: one is to show that you’re competent and have a lot to offer, and the second is by showing you care about the team.”
When we consider change, we usually think: Are we ready for it or against it? We don’t often consider how it affects our position and relationships within the team. We should pay attention to these personal interactions when the organization is going through changes.
