Arrival...there goes the neighborhood

When separate groups of people arrive and join or combine with another group, chaos can ensue. It can cause a small amount, or a great amount of conflict. In a community there is a complex group dynamic in place, when a new group of people joins or combines with the group it, inevitably, screws everything up. Things have to be reworked, whether it’s a welcome change or a reluctant one. Change, of any sort, is always hard, but when people are entered into the situation, it becomes more complex. People have emotions, actions, reactions, etc. All of these further complicate the process. Every person in a group also has a role, or a status. This role or status determines how they interact in the group. There are simple ones, like a child’s role in a family. The details of the role will differ from family to family, but it is a role none the less. Then there are more complex roles, or roles that are less obvious and hard to define. For instance, in a group of friends one may be the “leader”, the one whose decisions impact the group the most, or the one who gets the group to come together. One may be the instigator, or the gossiper, or the comforter, or what have you. Regardless, most people have roles and are comfortable with them and understand what their role entitles (most of the time without knowingly acknowledging that they have a specific role).

And then a new person comes. Perhaps it’s a new family member, or friend, or someone in the workspace, or Europeans coming to “discover” your home. Whoever this new entity is, they’ve now shifted the group dynamics, and they are adding themselves into the equation. This shift can be easy, or extremely difficult and detrimental. A lot times it has to do with if the original members of the group accept/like/welcome the new entity of the group. If members of the group are closed off to the new member it makes transition harder. It also depends on what sort of role this entity aspires to attain. Perhaps they’re content with blending in with group, adopting the group’s beliefs/values/system. However, if this new addition is looking to lead, or take charge, or drastically change the way the group works, they can be met with a lot resistance.

Regardless of if the transition is a tough one or not, the group is forced to adjust. That’s why new members are often met with hostility and negativity. The title of this blog post can represent two things; the first one being the resistance of the original party to accept new members and the second one being what it appears to be, that new members of a group often create unnecessary chaos and conflict



Thanks, guys. Gianna.