Do you like changes?

Let’s ask ourselves this question: how much change have we experienced in the last year?
Perhaps the IT department had to learn a complicated new software system. The FD department may have taken on new team members. Or the Edu department might have gone through a new product customizing method. Or some of us experience a new role.
Change is routine in today’s workplace. And no matter what you do, you probably can’t – or shouldn’t – try to stop it.

However, you can choose how you react to it.

If you can embrace and cope with change, you'll be valued highly in your organization. You'll be seen as a flexible and adaptable team player, and this reputation can open up many opportunities. If, however, you consistently resist change, you'll be seen as "part of the problem," and you'll get left behind.

So let’s discover change and it’s affects, what is coping, then the importance of coping with change and finally how to do that.

There are change such as
Organizations are continuously shifting, growing, downsizing, merging and acquiring people and resources
Developments in technology means that we need to learn new ways of working and communicating
Or smaller changes such as getting to know a new team member or learning new standards in a particular industry
These changes can bring amazing opportunities or it can bring defeat. It can lift an entire team up, or it can lead people to find other employment.

That’s all about change. How about coping? What does it mean?

Coping is the way that we think about and deal with stressful events.
It’s often your attitude towards change that determines your emotions and your experience of it.
Some people view change positively and see it as an exciting opportunity to learn and grow. But others see change negatively, as something to fear and to avoid. Therefore having a positive attitude in coping with change is very important, isn’t it?

There is a famous saying of Harold Wilson, a British Politician “He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.”
Through this sentence, we all can see why he criticized the rejections of change like that, why we need to cope with changes positively? Let’s figure out the importance of coping with change.

The people who resist change will likely find themselves overlooked for important projects, passed over for promotions, or left behind entirely. The inability to cope with change can also lead to great stress, and other negative physical and psychological effects.

After knowing that resisting change brings such disadvantages and we should be positive and excited to cope with it. But then how? Let’s discuss about that.

Let’s discuss about the types of coping strategy first. There are two types of them called control coping and escape coping. We can see the comparison between the both strategies. While control coping is a positive and proactive method, escape coping is based on avoidance. With control coping strategy, you refuse to feel like a victim of change, instead you take charge and do whatever you can to be part of the solution, including managing your feelings. But with escape coping, you experience thoughts and emotions, or take specific actions, that help you avoid the difficulties of change.
For instance, with the BCs or therapists, usually cold calling is usually a difficult tactic to carry out because most of them face it with a negative mindset such as it doesn’t work, people don’t want to listen, people hang up before they can talk so they use escape coping strategy. They try to avoid doing that as much as they can. And that even causes so much stress for them because they always have to find a reason to not doing that. But the successful BC or therapists usually choose the control coping strategy. They approach the cold calling tactic very positively. They use it to maximize their opportunities of getting more customers. They try to do the tactic better and better and that leverages their skills, gives them more values. That’s another the win they get.
So now we know that Control coping is a better or the best option to choose because it puts you in a position of positive control. Here, you proactively search for a way to be a part of the solution, instead of reacting to, and avoiding, the change.

So how can you put yourself in control?

Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman give us a useful way of doing this with their "Transactional Model of Stress and Coping". You can use this simple approach to look objectively at the change situation you're experiencing, and analyze what you can do to respond to it effectively.
There are three stages in this model:

1. In this primary appraisal, we evaluate the event and its significance to ourselves, our unique situation, and our sense of well-being. We're answering the question "Is this change going to affect us in a positive or a negative way?"
2. A major part of coping with change is deciding whether the change represents a threat: at this initial stage, we might not be sure what risks or opportunities this change poses for us so we conduct a
SWOT analysis to identify the possible threats and opportunities that we will face or experience
Risk analysis to get a better sense of the risks that we might experience in this situation.
Impact analysis to identify the positive and negative consequences of the change we're facing. Does it threaten our expert status or our job, or is the impact smaller? Or will this change make our work easier or enhance our skills? We'll feel more in control and informed when we know both the positive and negative consequences, and this will also guide our actions in the next step.
3. Manage our emotions. It can often be useful to talk informally about what we're feeling – remember that it usually helps to have social support in these situations.
It's also important to manage our emotions. Try not to take negative feelings out on others, and use techniques like thought awareness to keep control of our emotions. And keep in mind that not all change is bad – often, it can be a very good thing! Try to get excited about what's coming.

Once we've determined how this change is going to affect us and our well-being, we can then go through a second appraisal.
In this assessment, we think about how we can control what's happening by asking, "What can I do about this situation?" we also begin to look at the resources we have available for coping with this change, and we start thinking about whether these are sufficient.
Next, make a list of things that might help us through this change. Which of our current skills will help us to succeed? Do I have a skill or knowledge gap that might hinder my ability to navigate this change? And do I need additional training?
Also, do our best to find out more about this change. Be proactive, ask for news and updates, and make sure that we share what we learn with our colleagues. This will help them feel informed and comfortable, but might also prevent the spread of rumors, which can lower morale and engagement.
Tip:Consider becoming a "change agent" – an active supporter and promoter of the change. If you do this well, it can mark you out as a "rising star" in your organization.

Our coping efforts determine how well we handle the situation. This is where control coping and escape coping strategies often come into play.
It's important to avoid common escape coping strategies, like drinking too much alcohol, lashing out emotionally, and other negative behaviors. Instead, focus on control coping, and think about how we can take control of this situation and create a positive outcome for ourselves and for the people around us.
People who have a positive outlook find it much easier to engage in control coping. So, use positive thinking techniques to foresee a great outcome such as:
Affirmations: positive, specific statements that help us to overcome self-sabotaging, negative thoughts. They help us visualize, and believe in, what we're affirming to ourselves, helping us to make positive changes to our life and career.
Visualization: simply mental rehearsal. We visualize what we need/want. We repeat these images over and over again.
Next, keep up-to-date with what our colleagues are going through. If this change affects them as well, ask them how they're coping. Often, reaching out and trying to help others can also help us cope more effectively.
Remember to take time for ourselves. If we're going through a major organizational change such as a promotion, takeover, or acquisition, we might feel pressured to work longer hours, especially if our job is at risk. This is often appropriate, however, it's essential to take time out during the day to eat healthy foods, get some exercise, and de-stress; and it's also important to remember to relax after a hard day’s work. 
Last, try to maintain a positive outlook about the situation. Even if a change seems negative at first, there's often a positive outcome if we take the time to find it. Only we can decide whether we'll grow from the situation, or let it affect us negatively.
There’s quite a lot of information about this approach. So let’s summarize it.

Three stages of coping:
Primary appraisal – where we assess the risks and opportunities that come with the change.
Secondary appraisal – where we plan how we'll adapt to, and, if appropriate, support the change.
Coping efforts – where we take control of the situation.
To sum up, we can see that change occurs regularly in today's workplace. These changes can be small or large, and knowing how to cope with them effectively is essential to our career, as well as for our health and well-being.
it's important that we maintain a positive attitude to change, where we sensibly should. This will help us cope with the situation, and grow from the experience.