Coping with change requires directing and controlling individual resources. Individuals or organizations that refuse to change and adapt their paradigms or mission become non-existent. The idea of loss as the result of on-going change is apparent in organizational life whether the organization is corporate, educational, social, or spiritual in nature. On the professional level, downsizing, reorganization, and technology have become buzzwords in modern corporate organizations. Indicators associated with change suggest that throughout the process of change and change management, the communication behaviors of an individual become more inner-directed and less tolerant of others.
Research suggests that support is perceived only when parallel experiences are shared.
In addition to research, however, people need to be taught how to grieve and that grieving is an acceptable form of behavior in any type of loss situation 2. As the shock abates, the physical symptoms lose their intensity and we begin to absorb reality. If there is a persistent wish during grief, it is that the loss could be reversed. Denial allows the slow assimilation of the loss. At first the thought is that the report must be wrong.