Stage 1: Denial Employees are spinning their wheels and stuck in neutral during this period. They care about losing the first three "Maslow needs" and that the change will be detrimental to them personally. Denial is typically subconscious, and those who engage in it deny it. Stage 2: Resistance What seems to be opposition to change is actually opposition to loss. Employees are not actively rejecting the change at this point, but rather the perceived loss of control that will come with it. Nobody likes to be aware of their own incompetence.