Change obstructed by long-serving staff

Long-serving staff are one of the biggest barriers to changes in companies such as flexible working and employee empowerment, according to a new report by the Industrial Society. It says that while 94 per cent of organisations were going through a process of cultural change, only a fraction of employees, some 9 per cent, actually wanted change.

The survey of 341 personnel managers from a diverse group of UK businesses cited "resistance from long-serving staff" as the major obstacle to change. However managers were surprisingly seen to be a bigger obstacle to cultural change than trade unions. Around 35 per cent of managers were opposed to changes, while just 9 per cent of unions voiced their opposition, though this could be explained by the increase in union derecognition.