The second blog of the series examines resilience and tactics which can be implemented to improve workforce wellbeing and overall productivity.
A quarter of all employees view their job as the number one stress factor in their lives. (1)
Many of us are now working in a relentlessly connected, always-on, highly demanding work culture, where stress and risk of burnout are prolific.
How can we combat this?
More than five decades of research point to the fact that resilience is built by attitudes, behaviours and social support which can be adopted and cultivated by anyone. Factors leading to resilience include optimism, the ability to stay balanced and effectively manage those strong and difficult emotions. The good news is you can learn to be more resilient and developing resilience is essential for prospering in the workplace.
1) Understand strengths.
Understanding strengths of your workforce is the most effective way to achieve success. Employers should make sure they are offering training opportunities for employees showing strengths and interests in particular areas; they should encourage team members to act as “strength advocates” and support colleagues to develop their talents. The results will inspire an engaged and socially interacted work environment and build stronger relationships.
2) Encourage social interaction and cultivate compassion
Compassion within the workplace is one of the most overlooked aspects of resilience. Research reveals compassion increases positive emotions, creates positive work relationships and improves cooperation and collaboration.
If someone in your workforce is not dealing particularly well with stress, they may be unwilling to acknowledge it. Encouraging a good work-life balance will help. Training managers must recognise signals of stress and depression and work with individuals to counterbalance it and prevent deeper issues occurring.
3) Provide your workforce with tactics
Good stress management is vital in the workplace. If your employees are experiencing stress, they may be at risk of developing a mental health problem, like depression or anxiety. Building resilience will help your workforce adapt to circumstances and deal with challenging situations more easily.
4) Adopt a new way of thinking
The culture in a team is imperative to promoting resilience. Forming the basis for “team resilience” it is the responsibility of a team leader or supervisor to create the right atmosphere for their team. A positive work culture can be developed by consistently demonstrating suitable behaviours to reinforce optimism in employees.
5) Life Skill
Resilience is a critical life-skill rooted in the survival of humankind. It is important to be able to cope with stress and unexpected challenges – and thrive. Occupational stress affects personal outcomes and performance (Rees, Breen, Cusack, and Hegney, 2015), so offering your workforce tactics to combat this is crucial to improve productivity.
Why is resilience so important?
One in four people in the UK will have a mental health problem at some point in their lives. Whether caused or aggravated by work; employers still have a legal responsibility towards their employees’ wellbeing. A positive approach to mental health will reap rewards for both employer and employees.
DTM Legal can help by providing . . .
- Advice on contracts of employment & company policies such as sickness absence, well-being & stress management.
- Advice on reasonable adjustments & the impact of the Equality Act 2010.
- Guidance on flexible working arrangements.
- Advice on recruitment and management processes.
- Right to minimise the risk of discrimination claims
For more information, please contact, head of employment and HR, Tom Evans: tom.evans@dtmlegal.com/ 0151 230 1217
