Think about the times you have felt stressed during your work life. For many people, these times were caused by organizational change. Researchers are interested in determining the specific causes and mitigating factors of stress to learn how to manage organizational change effectively. The overall findings are that organizational changes that incorporate OB knowledge of how people react to stressors may yield more effective results than changes that are managed only objectively through goal-setting plans.

Not surprisingly, the role of leadership is critical. Managers can be continually working to increase employees’ self-efficacy, change-related attitudes, and perceived control over the situation to create this positive change orientation. Often, organizational changes are stressful because some employees perceive aspects of the changes as threatening. To reduce the perception of threat, employees need to perceive the organizational changes as fair. Through these methods, managers can help employees keep their stress low and their commitment high.