Resilience; The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness
According to the Oxford English dictionary, resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties – what ever form we make those mean. Yet in business terms what does that actually mean?
Savvy organisations are now turning their attention to the concept of resilience training for employees as a means to reduce or manage absence proactively in the workplace and are recognising that consistent high performance no longer is a case of ‘grit your teeth and get on with it’ but instead teaching employees about how to thrive from within.
Over recent years, and particularly in the face of challenging economic times, organisations have started to make the link that resilient employees perform better, have greater sustained energy and the ability to bounce back far quicker than those who are less resilient, stressed and unable to cope with setbacks or change.
Resilient employees are able to “roll with the punches” and adapt to adversity without lasting difficulties; less resilient employees have a harder time with stress and life changes, both major and minor. When employees have the knowledge and skills required to be more resilient on a physical, emotional and mental level, they perform at an enhanced level.
A workforce characterised by low resilience levels often demonstrates higher than average levels of absence, challenges with presenteeism and lower levels of morale and employee engagement, team building and cognition. Growing research suggests that organisations faced with this in the workplace are more likely to see a decline in competitive advantage, market share and profitability.
Resilient individuals make resilient employees. The ability of resilient employees to stay motivated, control stress and enjoy life translates into bottom line results.
Resilience and organisational success
The Harvard Business School reviewed what was key in order for organisations to move forward and grow successfully. The four key factors were;
- Empathy
- Perspective Taking
- Rapport
- Cooperation
These key skills and qualities require us as leaders and employees to be grounded, emotionally intelligent, connected to ourselves and have a calm state of mind. However, any form of stress robs an individual of the ability to do anything other than survive.
Therefore, for organisations to move forward and grow successfully, resilience training is crucial. Resilience training is no longer about bouncing back in the face of adversity or teaching employees how to become battering rams. Instead it’s giving employees the insight into how they function as a human, how the brain functions and how change is really created, leading to the ability to take everything life has to offer in our stride.
“If you want to improve the organization, you have to improve yourself and the organisation gets pulled up with you.”
Indra Nooyi (Chairperson and CEO, PepsiCo
Would you like to know more about how resilience training can help to transform your workforce?
Sara Maude, a seasoned Solution Focused Psychotherapist, Transformational Coach, Hypnotherapist, and EFT Practitioner, brings over a decade of mental health expertise to global organisations. She specialises in workplace wellbeing training, employee health and wellbeing programs and mental health training for managers. Sara’s proficiency also extends to wellbeing consultancy and wellbeing strategy, contributing significantly to the enhancement of employee wellbeing in the workplace.