Any analysis of power in the context of modern organizations must also be sensitive to the many ways in which it is resisted. Resistance can take various forms in complex workplaces, some of which may not be obvious. For example, imagine a female IT employee who is asked to work overtime in the evening for a month, a demand that conflicts directly with her family life. This is a classic articulation of power, in which the company extends the working day and in doing so encroaches more and more on the lives of its employees. The employee may gleefully agree to the request, and put her family life aside in order to impress her superiors. On the other hand, she may simply refuse, with recourse to the authority of the local union. This resistance may evoke a more forceful use of power by the superiors. The employee may then comply grudgingly, expressing her resistance in less blatant ways, such as sabotage, working to rule and cynical distancing. On the other hand, she may simply quit and find employment elsewhere.

This scenario hits upon some rather complex issues concerning the question of workplace resistance. If the employee continues to work, but is secretly cynical, is this cynicism to be considered a form of resistance? Does resistance have to be behavioural in order to be effective?