While it’s good to be able to manage stressful situations, if the workplace is putting a strain on your mental health, then, resilience may not be the only solution. However, resilience is a vital skill to have. It is about having the ability to cope with the ups and downs and bounce back from challenges. In the workplace, this can be applied to the abilities of employees to manage anything from a tough workload to frustrating colleagues. Those with greater resilience are better able to manage stress, which is a risk factor of anxiety and depression.
Resilient people have strong resources and skills to manage stress and conflict as well as a good support network to help them deal with the pressures of work. They are flexible, adapt to new and different situations, learn from experience, are optimistic and ask for help when they need it.
Enhancing resilience removes the notion that employees are passive recipients of workplace stress without anything they can do about it. Resilience isn’t just about learning ways to cope with unfavorable situations but about finding ways to move forward so you won’t be confined in places that are damaging to your overall well-being.
If you’re in a position to make changes in your organization, create flexible working arrangements within the office environment. Coping strategies like conscientiousness can help improve effective decision-making. Having a strong support network outside of work can also help support and contribute to a more resilient skill set.
Resilience is a crucial approach to manage job stress, workplace conflicts, and challenges on the job. Improving resilience is vital because work is considered as a strong predictor of stress among employees. However, stress is not the only factor that can test a person’s flexibility. The bottle neck is the manner how a person handles stress is a strong indicator of his/her ability to bounce back.
As employers form and develop an effective workplace culture and resilience, they also build a resilient workforce who can handle work stress better, and develop defensive factors against stress. A resilient employee builds strong connections and relationships with others by listening actively and is responsive to their colleague and their emotions.
Raising resilience contributes to employee’s improved self-esteem, sense of control over life events, sense of purpose and improved employee interpersonal relationships. Apart from this, resilience is significantly and positively associated with greater job satisfaction, work happiness, organizational commitment and employee engagement; thereby increasing productivity.
Stressful work environments can lead to negative physical and mental health outcomes for employees and organizations. Therefore, when stress is high, there is a need for resilience. Creating a resilient workforce and more healthy organizational culture takes employer commitment. Resilient employees make resilient organizations. So, motivated and equipped employees are best positioned to overcome obstacles and distractions.
On the other hand, organizational culture is built on principles of empowerment, purpose, trust and accountability. Building or improving a resilient culture is strengthened by a company-wide support for employees and a commitment to address resilience. But this requires action and regular communication.
To improve the work environment, allow autonomy and let individuals do their jobs. Reward good work and be reasonable about work expectations because pushing personnel to increase workloads can weaken productivity and results.