Sensemaking During an Organizational Change: The Role of Communication in Making Sense of the Shift to Remote Work Among Private School Teachers

Abstract

Many scholars scrutinize the sensemaking process of various groups when they are subjected to a crisis or change occurrence. In the organization setting, exploring this process is relevant because various organizations face different crises or changes over time. As such, this study explores the sensemaking process of private school teachers during an organizational change (i.e., the sudden shift to remote work because of the COVID-19 pandemic), and it seeks to determine how communication has helped them with it. This study utilized Karl Weick’s Theory of Organizing (1979) as a theoretical backdrop, as Weick himself is the proponent of the sensemaking concept. Moreover, this research utilized a case study design, collected data through in-depth interviews with six teachers from one private school in Cavite, and analyzed them through thematic analysis. Findings show that the sensemaking process of the private school teachers in this organization adhered to the phases of sensemaking as illustrated in the model of Weick’s Theory of Organizing. During the first few months of the remote work implementation, it was found that the teachers had little to no technical background in navigating online teaching platforms, which is why they initially had negative perceptions toward the new work setup. However, despite the uncertainties they felt, they still strived to learn new things and remain in the organization as it was also found that the teachers had a positive attitude towards work. Other than this, having open horizontal and upward communication in the organization primarily helped the teachers the most to overcome the equivocality they initially felt toward remote work. It was found that the communication cycles in their organization, specifically from the perspectives of the teachers, helped them see the benefits or the plausible image of the organizational change in context. In conclusion, open communication is the center of successful sensemaking, specifically during an organizational change.