THE HUMAN SIDE OF LARGE-SCALE CHANGES IN PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract: The process of organizational change will inevitably have an impact on the employees within when converting from its status quo to a hoped-for future state. Strategic goals are often coming to the fore while creating a workforce that helps evolve the change is easily forgotten or deprioritized. Moreover, the frequency of change tends to aggravate feelings of fatigue or organizational change cynicism that may obstruct the effectiveness of reforms. The purpose of this study is to highlight the human experience in large-scale changes in public sector organizations. Therefore, the central question is how individual perceptions can determine the effectiveness of public management reforms as they are assumed to evolve into a favorable or negative attitude towards change. Using the example case of the Swedish police force, we thus intend to illuminate how employee perception of change and management impact reform outcomes and attitudes towards coming changes. Based on seven in-depth interviews we gathered at Lund’s precinct, this thesis used grounded theory as a method for analysis. It furthermore relies on prior studies that addressed the topics of change management, employee engagement, communication, and public sector management. Some of the main conclusions of the study are: If the work environment is characterized by information sharing in decision-making, it creates the impression of active employee involvement and thus will be less associated with high levels of organizational change cynicism (OCC). The absence of respective resources to make the involvement possible reversely increases levels of OCC. Employees who perceive themselves as having received higher levels of organizational inducements, as opposed to those who perceive having received lower levels, exhibit a more positive perception of the change, which, in turn, seems to lead them to be more committed to change. Employee support accordingly seems to increase with positive perceptions of past change experience. Past experience of management’s efforts during a change implementation appears to shape the perception and attitude towards coming changes. Observing perceptions comes across as pivotal for planning future reforms as they indicate the level of willingness for active participation or potential change fatigue. If the majority displays considerable levels of OCC or fatigue, they are likely to infect the organizational climate, reversely impacting structural outcomes. It follows that employee perception will inevitably determine the success of structural outcomes as it imbues the organizational climate.