Change: how to prepare for loss

Adjusting to change is one of the most integral and yet most difficult tasks of the human experience. A variety of factors affect individual reaction to change, including unresolved childhood experiences with change, the degree to which change was anticipated, and simultaneous changes. Adjusting to change is an inevitable part of a health-care setting where change often appears to be the order of the day. The manager's ability to respond to change, to successfully separate from significant relationships and objects, and to reinvest in new relationships and objects is of vital importance to personal mental health and future job success. The manager also plays a key role in helping employees adjust to change by assisting them in planning for change, verbalizing feelings about the change, using support and coping strategies, avoiding hostile reactions, and focusing on the future.