Mitigating employee resistance and achieving well-being in digital transformation

Purpose Digital transformation is a complex and continuous process that presents significant challenges for companies and employees. Employee resistance, a factor often cited for the failure of digital initiatives, hinders these initiatives and contributes to stress, affecting employee well-being – a connection not yet fully explored in extant literature. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the factors that increase employee resistance to digital transformation and how it can be mitigated. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a multiple case study approach to analyze qualitative data from ten industrial companies in Finland. Findings Factors influencing resistance at the individual, organizational, and technological levels were identified, and three key components of the resistance mitigation strategy from the case companies were identified: learning, communication and participation. The findings, supported by relevant literature, link resistance to employee well-being and propose that the identified mitigation strategy reduces resistance and supports employee well-being during digital transformation. Practical implications This study provides practical implications and suggests avenues for future studies to examine this unsaturated yet important research area. Originality/value This study is among the first to empirically examine employee resistance in digital transformation and link it to employee well-being.