In a workplace, cultivating resilience is everyone’s job. Resilience helps employees cope with stress and drives them to stay motivated in times of adversity to overcome problems or setbacks with a positive mindset. As resiliency can impact workplace productivity, employees need training and guidance to build resilience and acquire the skills, strategies and mindset necessary for success.
In this article, we’ll explore how resilience benefits workplaces, look at specific strategies that different types of employees can use to build resilience and investigate how professional resilience training can boost productivity and employee wellbeing.
Understanding Resilience in the Workplace
New technologies and digital transitions mean the world of work is always changing, throwing up personal challenges and forcing employees to adapt. Staying focused on goals and managing disruptions are key to building resilience in the workplace.
A lack of resilience in employees means they can become stressed to the point of feeling helpless. It can result in psychological distress which leads employees to turn to unhealthy habits to cope with their emotional pain. Lower resilience within a workplace can lead to higher absenteeism and this lack of focus can soon spread throughout teams.
How Do Training Courses Encourage Resilience?
The more resilient individuals are, the more successful a business can become. On the surface, professional courses that teach resilience may seem like just another process or box-ticking exercise. However, resilience is about more than just mindset—it requires practice. Think of it as a muscle that needs to be kept strong with regular workouts.
Having the tools to cope with stress and overcome challenges protects employees from burnout, helps them achieve their career goals and encourages better workplace relations. While resilience is a personal trait, leaders can help guide their team to boost overall performance.
Different Types of Resilience for Specific Roles
There are different types of resilience required for distinct roles and their unique challenges. A good example of this is the difference between a manager and a client-facing role. A manager requires emotional resilience to make tough decisions while managing negative emotions. Someone dealing with clients needs psychological resilience to stay calm and problem-solve in the face of adversity.
Here are some other examples of types of resilience required for different roles.
For Leadership Roles (e.g., Managers, Executives)
Flexibility, adaptability and emotional regulation are key traits of successful managers who need to make important decisions under pressure. Coping with unexpected change and facing adversity can be made easier by learning strategies like mindfulness and delegation while seeking feedback can help managers gain insight and perspective that will improve their performance.
For Client-Facing Roles (e.g., Sales, Customer Support)
For Client-Facing Roles (e.g., Sales, Customer Support)Employees dealing with members of the public require a great level of emotional resilience to regulate their own emotions whilst remaining empathetic. Learning techniques to remain effective problem-solvers while staying calm benefits both physical and mental health and helps them excel as the face of a business.
For Creative/Innovative Roles (e.g., Marketing, Design)
Creative professionals must handle criticism, navigate constraints, and maintain innovation under pressure. Taking the opportunity to view criticism as a learning opportunity and approach situations differently in the future is an example of how being resilient can help creatives overcome this unique type of workplace stress. Self-care and managing stress are also good strategies to foster creativity.
For Operational Roles (e.g., Logistics, Administration)
There is a strong relationship between time management, workflow optimisation and well-being. By optimising the use of time, those performing operational tasks can take some of the strain out of their role. Learning how to set SMART goals and rank tasks by importance can help these essential workers maintain balance.
How to Develop Workplace Resilience and Boost Your Business
Make resilience a part of your workplace culture with these tips:
- Resilience is the ability to navigate challenges and change—both of which are constant in any workplace. With a greater focus on coping with common sources of stress, your business is saying to its staff “Hey, we understand, and we want you to do well”.
- Keep lines of communication open within teams. Having peers and supervisors to lean on can help workers become emotionally resilient people.
- Encourage workers to look after their physical well-being. According to the Mayo Clinic, people with healthy habits such as a healthy diet and regular exercise are more able to cope with adversity than those who don’t look after their physical health.
- Set realistic goals. Help your team learn how to break a task down into small, achievable steps and set aside time each week to reassess goals and reflect on wins and losses.
- Boost your teammates’ confidence. Regularly remind peers and employees of their skills and personal strengths because high self-esteem is crucial to resilience.
- Foster a strong sense of support and respect in the workplace. From HR departments to employee assistance schemes to managers and union representatives, employee wellbeing should be taken seriously. Educate employees on the help available so they can learn how to overcome common challenges.
Give Your Staff the Tools and Resources They Need to Succeed
Resilience isn’t something you just develop and forget about. Professional coaching can help cultivate a growth mindset, but it should be an ongoing process, using multiple techniques to assess resilience and see where it can be improved.
Resilience is a key factor in a team’s performance. Help yourself or your staff identify vulnerabilities and improve resilience strategies with Priority Management’s leadership courses. These sessions can be tailored to specific roles and industries, encompassing topics such as coping skills, stress management or emotional intelligence. Get the best out of your team with our practical and empathetic support. Contact us today at 1300 139 126 to unlock your true potential.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does business training help you become more resilient?
It gives you the ability to adapt your way of thinking and provides you with the resources to handle problems. Being resilient means being strong, so by training yourself to handle setbacks, you will have a better quality of life, in business and personally.
What are the 4 types of resilience?
They are physical resilience, mental resilience, emotional resilience and social resilience.
What are the 7 components of resilience in the workplace?
Competence, confidence, connection, character, contribution, coping and control. You can learn more about the 7 Cs in Priority Management’s business leadership courses.