Being Resilient
“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.”- Maya Angelou
Resilience is the ability of an individual to adapt to stress and the demands of everyday life. Dictionary meanings include terms such as versatility, longevity, strength, recovery speed and buoyancy. In short, our capacity to "bounce back" is affected by resilience. Work resilience is now known as a distinguishing trait of workers who cope well with the new work's stresses and strains. Resilient individuals are better able to cope with the requirements imposed upon them at work, especially when those requirements can require them to deal with constantly shifting expectations and a heavy workload. Resilience is not a quality chosen to give to some people and not to others. The key here is that resilience is an active process, rather than a passive quality.The way we approach life, and all that it can throw at us, has a major impact on our experience. Resilient individuals do more of the things that help maintain that reactivity, and it is relatively easy for those of us who feel less resilient to develop habits that increase our ability to perform under pressure, and perhaps more importantly, to live better despite circumstances that try to limit us.
The ability to withstand pressure, adversity and confusion well depends on the creation of attitudes, thoughts and acts. These patterns can be learned by anyone and techniques can be built to help improve resilience and hardiness. It has been observed by experts that a clear pattern of attitudes and skills that allows people to survive and succeed under stress helps them. General day-to-day tasks often feel more accessible to a resilient person with a logic-oriented attitude and a focus on problem solving. It's not positivity that makes people resilient, it's the other way around. Resilience makes for a constructive work approach and life perspective, which in turn allows for stronger problem solving and helps to sustain motivation.
How being Resilient impacts the Organization:
In so many ways, having resilient employees benefits the organisation, not least by making employees more driven, willing to cope with change, and less prone to burnout. It also enhances the overall wellbeing of workers, as resilience and occupational well-being are closely related.
Better mental wellbeing indicates less absenteeism which in turn increases the efficiency of people throughout the workplace. Resilience can avoid overshadowing judgement with stressful feelings and thoughts, ensuring that workers can cope more peacefully and objectively with challenges in the workplace.
Individuals with good resilience are more inclined to speak up and participate actively, and can more clearly and effectively communicate themselves.
All organizations benefit from having coordinated workers, as they can handle their workload effectively and communicate with others. Resilience promotes a future-focused mentality that enables employees to prepare realistically, promoting efficiency.
As no one is a one-man band, resilient employees see the significance in reaching out to others. During personal issues, this will help them solve difficulties and gain important assistance, which can otherwise have a knock-on impact at work.
Conflicting principles are mostly due to a lack of straightforward communication and barrier setting. Resilience helps employees to better consider the needs of their own and others, so demands do not go beyond the capacities of people. In exchange, this helps everyone to function more effectively and diplomatically.
Building a Resilient Organization:
It is very much a personal journey that takes self-reflection, time, and practise to develop resilience. Team leaders and managers, however, may promote the growth of a person by providing the necessary tools and coaching. Organizational resilience is often encouraged through facilitating resilience from a senior level, making it a culture that is work-wide. This reassures and encourages employees to devote time to development. It's important to remember that there are many aspects of resilience and most of them overlap. Thus it is important to remember the 5 key aspects while building a resilience in your organization:
Emotional wellbeing- How well an individual handles their thoughts and feelings, and how safe and rational their perceptions are about themselves and the world are. This is the most crucial pillar of resilience.
Physical health- Recognizing the value of physically taking care of oneself as, poor physical well-being will directly influence the other pillars.
Inner drive- Along with taking a forward-thinking approach to success in life, the desire to set goals and motivate yourself.
Futuristic approach- An individual's foresight level, as well as the desire to concentrate on ideas and positive progress. Acceptance of defeats and adversity is also included.
Relationships- Having a large social network that offers emotional and physical support (example- friends, colleagues, family).
All of these are interlinked and contain individual building blocks of their own, which you must grow to reinforce the foundations as a whole. For instance, knowing and controlling your thoughts is one of the essential components of emotional well-being. You'll be in a strong starting place to build your and others' resilience by knowing how many different personal elements need to be tended to. It will help you to recognise areas in which you or others are already doing well and those in which they need to improve. Resilience isn't really achievable overnight, but in your organisation, it is something that you should cultivate. Employees can stay motivated, work well with others, and ride out phases of struggle and transition, with the attitude and skills that resilience brings. A resilient workforce will lead the organisation to milestones that are sometimes unachievable for those who face natural challenges.