Building Resilience @work!

Q: What is the single most important factor in determining whether a person is successful, satisfied and happy?

A: Resilience!

Stress? Recession? Change? Pressure? Deadlines? Crisis? Relationship challenges? Feeling flat?

Do any (or all!) of these apply to you? Most people would answer “yes”!

These are the inevitable facts of life! They happen to all of us!

It’s not about whether these will happen to you or not (because they will!) – it’s about your ability to cope with and bounce back from adversity that determines how productive and effective you are – it’s how RESILIENT you are, that counts!

Psychologists, scientists and people in general, have for decades wondered how it is that some people are able to bounce back from adversity whereas others bend and some break. How can some of us turn setbacks into positives and others, faced with similar circumstances, end up even worse off and suffering even more?

Recent research has shown that resilience is something that can be learned and developed and therefore can lead to greater productivity, effectiveness, happiness and in general, greater work and life outcomes.

What is Resilience?

Resilience has been described as our ability to bounce back from adversity. According to Dr. Suzy Green, a mental health expert, “It’s when life throws a curve ball at us and we’re able to respond flexibly and adapt – with our mental health intact”.

Esther Orioli, a world-renowned authority on stress and resilience, defines resilience as,“your ability to...

• bounce back after setbacks, disappointments or failures,

• be adaptable and flexible

• create vitality and re-engineer yourself in the face of change.”

And the best part of all is that it can be learned and developed!

Resilience = Happiness. It’s in our own best interests (and others’ too) to master resilience as “it’s the single most important factor in determining whether a person is successful, satisfied and happy” (Shatt, 2008, The Resilience Factor). His research showed a direct correlation between a person’s resilience and their job and relationship satisfaction.

Building resilience also reduces stress and lessens the risk of depression and mental illness. Research by the Black Dog Institute, (a mental health organisation) in 2008,  showed enhanced resilience leads to a “significant improvement in job satisfaction, productivity  and retention in the workplace.”

And it’s achievable for everyone!