This study explores the factors affecting psychological stress among organizational members during the restructuring process of Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) following the government's integrated water management policy change. To comple...
This study explores the factors affecting psychological stress among organizational members during the restructuring process of Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) following the government's integrated water management policy change. To complement previous studies that analyzed organizational changes from a macro-perspective focused on organizational performance, this research examines the micro-experiences and perceptions of organizational members' psychological stress through in-depth interviews and grounded theory methodology.
The research questions examined the effects of organizational members' perceptions of restructuring due to integrated water management policy changes, limited communication and participation opportunities, insufficient organizational support for change, and task-oriented and transactional leadership of management on psychological stress, as well as individual psychological stress factors and mitigation measures. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with 13 K-water employees and analyzed using qualitative coding methods of grounded theory.
The findings indicate that limited communication and participation opportunities, insufficient organizational support for change, and task-oriented and transactional leadership of management were major factors contributing to psychological stress among organizational members. Additionally, during the restructuring process following integrated water management, organizational members experienced complex and multidimensional psychological stress resulting from interrelated organizational structural factors, work-related factors, performance-related factors, interpersonal factors, and other personal factors. These results demonstrate that organizational restructuring in public institutions following policy changes goes beyond simple structural changes, causing various psychological stresses and revealing the complexity and multi-layered nature of public institution restructuring.
To mitigate psychological stress during organizational restructuring following integrated water management policy changes, this study suggests: First, reducing uncertainty through active participation of organizational members to address stress from limited communication and participation. Second, organizations should provide systematic support to alleviate restructuring shock and facilitate psychological adaptation. Third, management needs balanced leadership that values organizational growth and change based on member participation and communication, not just performance and goals. Fourth, systematic change management strategies are necessary based on communication and consensus with organizational members. Fifth, an integrated approach to various psychological stress factors is essential as these factors are interrelated. Particularly, in public institutions where external factors like government policy changes are significant, balanced change management supporting psychological adaptation and participation of organizational members is crucial.
This study provides theoretical and practical implications for effective change management in future public sector organizational changes by empirically presenting psychological stress factors and improvement measures from the perspective of organizational members during public institution restructuring due to government policy changes. By analyzing a case of public institution restructuring from the perspective of organizational members' psychological stress, the study highlights the multidimensional psychological impact on organizational members and the necessity of effective organizational change management.
Limitations of this study include the specificity of the target institution, limited research participant sample composition, potential retrospective and selective bias of participants, and possible researcher subjectivity. Future research should include multi-institutional comparative studies, mixed methods with quantitative research, longitudinal studies, in-depth research on specific psychological stress factors, and development of effective change management models reflecting public sector characteristics.