In my January blog, I talked about change. However, sometimes change happens to us, rather than it being something we choose ourselves. A good example of this, is when we are going through a re-structuring at work. Such a change can even lead to redundancy, whether this is being compulsorily being laid off, or whether we go for voluntary redundancy. The Kübler-Ross change cycle helps map several stages that you may be going through, when going through major change. These vary in emotional intensity as can be seen the figure above.
The different stages
The anger stage in the cycle can mean you not going to be very receptive to receiving any advice or help, though you can acknowledge the anger and understand that it is a normal part of adjusting to change.
After this stage, acceptance becomes closer. This process may not be rigid and people may skip stages or pass through them in any order. It is a cycle, so you may find you have gone through the acceptance stage and then return to anger again and again.
Feelings of powerlessness and anger can occur due to the lack of control you have over these changes, if they are something that is happening to you. This model shows that it is normal to go through all these stages and to most it is a huge relief to know this. It is definitely not a sign of weakness to be going through all these emotions!
Advice on what to do
If you are going through major change at work, see what sources of support are available. There may be access to free counselling provided by your organisation, or other assistance such as well-being groups etc. Career coaching might also be something that you might consider investing in. This is where I can help, you can find my details on the contact page.
See also, my blog on redundancy.