This article asserts that organizational transitions may be eased if change is viewed from the perspective of psychological loss rather than opportunity. Regardless of the benefits of changing, if an anticipated transition challenges that part of one's identity preserved in an organization's history, changes which disregard or discount that past will be resisted This view suggests that individuals adapt to organizational changes by working with them over time Organizational strategies designed to facilitate the transition process must account for differences in degrees of both the motivation and ability of individuals to adjust to organizational change
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