Resilience at Workplace
“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient".
Working professionals experience a great deal of stress due to both work-related and personal matters, they cope with recurring states of emotional imbalance and endure certain levels of health concerns as well.
According to a report, 7 among 10 working individuals experience stress weekly in India, and additionally, Indian professionals experience the most stress, when considering other Asian-pacific regions contributing to 60 % (Sheth, 2020). Definitely, the numbers are alarming as the rates have increased rapidly while looking at a global level too. Studies also show the drastic upsurge in the vulnerability of working individuals to be identified with depression or anxiety disorders, among those who experience long-enduring work-related stress. Recent statistics claim that only 15% of the employees are resilient at organizations where there are no employee well-being initiatives (Smith, 2020). Considering all the aforementioned concerns or the reality, a way to overcome one’s emotional turmoil and enhance one’s well-being is through strengthening or building up one’s emotional resilience attribute.
Resilience is the ability or the aptitude of an individual to be able to rise up against emotional stress, efficiently able to regulate one’s emotions thereby able to maintain a peaceful relationship with other colleagues and also with oneself. And constructively learn from downfalls through reflection and improved performance without the override of emotions.
An interesting verity is that resilience isn’t a skill that people are born with, in fact, it is a skill that can be developed by effective training and personality development, only through constant practice. A significant link between a personality trait and improved resilience is robustness or in other terms self-assurance; the ability to endure competently any challenging circumstances. Developing the power of endurance can be valuable as less likely for negative experiences to affect the individual, adversely. Increasing robustness has shown to enhance resilience by viewing stress as a motivational factor rather than as a hazard.
Resilience at the workplace can be improved by both personal and social developments. Studies suggest that employees with great communication and networking skills are more likely to have better resilience because of the availability of other co-workers during times of hassle; thereby experience reduced feelings of stress and quality workplace wellness.
Employees who exhibit, a strong determination towards overcoming obstacles, show higher resilience and other supporting qualities those employees maintain are:
· Being consciously aware of their thoughts and emotions without judgments.
· A clear boundary between work and personal life.
· Reflection and the right mindset.
The inner drive is an important feature when it comes to being resilient. When one is aware of their goals, interests and has a dynamic personality; they are passionately driven to reach success. Hence, any obstacles on their way are seen as a challenge and motivate them to eagerly conquer the barrier. Resilient individuals also intervene in past thoughts. However, they approach them differently. They seek to learn from their past actions, reflect on their past decisions and think about how they could have done it better; indicating that perspective is all that matters.
Resilience is indeed important and shouldn’t be seen as worthless, as great developments could be noticed in terms of employee performance or productivity, reduced burnout and improved employee well-being suggesting great benefits for the industry/company.
A study showed that group coaching for working-class professionals is a great approach for building emotional resilience (Lloyd, Katz & Pronk, 2016). The study used strategies to develop two skills i.e. communication and positive thinking. Results suggested that workers largely benefited from such sessions as they could observe and correct their negative thoughts rightly and showed improvement in their communication skills as well. Additionally, an increased level of job gratification was also perceived. Mindfulness-based resilience training was also found beneficial especially for individuals working in high-risk occupations such as the emergency workforce (Joyce et al., 2018).
In brief, resilience is an ability that could be developed by any individual, especially while working in an environment/occupation with too many stressors, it would be beneficial to inculcate the values of resilience in one’s personal and vocational aspects. In return, one can notice positive outcomes in personality, attitudes towards work-life, a clear vision with proper goal alignment and improved physical and psychological well-being.
Credits: Alita. A.
References
Sheth, H. (2020, December 8). 7 in 10 Indians experience stress at work on a weekly basis: Report. @businessline. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/science/7-in-10-indians-experience-stress-at-work-on-weekly-basis-report/article33276201.ece
Craig, H. B. (2021, February 22). Resilience in the Workplace: How to Be More Resilient at Work. PositivePsychology.Com. https://positivepsychology.com/resilience-in-the-workplace/
Lloyd, K., Katz, A., & Pronk, N. (2016). Building Emotional Resilience at the Workplace. ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal, 20(1), 42-46. DOI: 10.1249/fit.0000000000000170. https://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/fulltext/2016/01000/building_emotional_resilience_at_the_workplace__a.12.aspx
Ozbay, F., Johnson, D. C., Dimoulas, E., Morgan, C. A., Charney, D., & Southwick, S. (2007). Social support and resilience to stress: from neurobiology to clinical practice. Psychiatry (Edgmont (Pa. : Township)), 4(5), 35–40.
Building your resilience. (2012). https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience
Joyce, S., Shand, F., Bryant, R. A., Lal, T. J., & Harvey, S. B. (2018). Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training in the Workplace: Pilot Study of the Internet-Based Resilience@Work (RAW) Mindfulness Program. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(9), e10326. https://doi.org/10.2196/10326
Grant, A. M., Curtayne, L., & Burton, G. (2009). Executive coaching enhances goal attainment, resilience and workplace well-being: a randomised controlled study. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(5), 396–407. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760902992456
Smith, J. (2020a, September 9). Resilience is missing for many employees. Workplace Insight. https://workplaceinsight.net/resilience-is-missing-for-many-employees/#:%7E:text=Just%2015%20percent%20of%20employees,broad%20health%20and%20wellbeing%20programme.