The last year has tested everyone. We’ve all seen sweeping changes in the way we live and work. Your employees will have dealt with this in different ways – some will be thriving and some will be struggling.
Resilience – how well we deal with (and bounce back from) adversity, uncertainty and bad news – is an essential life skill. Resilient employees are able to tap into their deeper resources when faced with difficulties in the workplace. Instead of dwelling on failure they acknowledge the situation, learn from their mistakes and move forward.
Some people are naturally more resilient than others. But the good news is that leaders can help their employees to boost this trait, and apply it successfully to their life and career. We all build resilience over time by changing how we process negative situations and events. For example, overcoming adversity, instead of being defeated by it, starts to reframe our perspective and helps us feel stronger.
There are some key attributes that resilient employees share:
- They focus their energy and effort on things they can control
- They avoid catastrophising – they look at challenges as something to overcome, rather than disasters to endure
- They see crisis situations as temporary
- They believe in the power of collaboration and that ‘we are stronger together’.
Here are 5 reasons why employers should help employees boost their resilience
- They’ll be more motivated
Resilient employees tend to look to the future and see the bigger picture. As long as you give them a strong sense of the company’s direction and the importance of the role they fulfil, they’ll enjoy contributing to the company’s success. They’ll give their best each day and be committed to your company’s goals and values.
- They’ll be more confident and have more self-belief
For many employees, Covid has upended the feelings of confidence and security they had in their current and future career prospects. But, to thrive in the workplace, it’s vital to believe in you. Now, more than ever, employees need reminders of their achievements – so tell them they’re doing great and keep reinforcing the positives.
Tailored coaching is an excellent way to help employees quieten that negative voice in their head and overcome patterns of unproductive worry that erode confidence, self-belief and job performance. For example, if they struggle with public speaking, negotiating or running effective meetings, they may welcome help on some winning techniques to boost their confidence.
Particularly during periods of uncertainty, employees can feel de-motivated or directionless – again tailored coaching can help.
“The sessions we had opened my eyes to who I really am. It was such an insightful course about myself and the things that matter to me. I was going through a difficult moment at work where I felt broken, de-motivated and full of self-doubt. These sessions not only helped me to regain my confidence and motivation but also put in front of my mind what really makes me happy and that it’s important to seek that happiness on everything I do in my life, not only at work. It felt like therapy! Thanks again for showing me the kind human being I am but never noticed.” ES, Advertising Executive.
- They’ll start to embrace, rather than fear, change
Possibly one of the most important parts of building resilience is the ability to be flexible and embrace change. Adaptable employees respond far better to a crisis or a stressful situation – and they store that experience in their ‘bank’ to draw on in future.
Right now, we’re all learning just how uncertain the future can be. But, the only way to move forward is to accept the need for change… and believe in our ability to see it through.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin
Regrettably, for many companies that change may mean redeploying some employees or making redundancies. That’s a hugely stressful situation to navigate. However, when employers put the right outplacement support in place, many employees do find new roles quickly – and some even take the opportunity to build a whole new career or business.
- They’ll be better problem-solvers
Building resilience helps employees to reframe situations and find new ways of looking at old problems. Part of our Career Refinery Portal & App is dedicated to fortifying this problem-solving skill set. It delivers real-life scenarios to help employees practice breaking down crises into manageable steps to enable them to move forward.
- They’ll be more engaged
Strong workplace relationships and networks are essential for career and skills development as well as being an important stress buffer. Employers can help their teams to nurture their professional relationships (both within the company and across your industry) with a cohesive LinkedIn strategy. It’s a fantastic platform not just to boost your employer brand, but also to support your employees to keep connecting with people and share expertise and best practice.
Business leaders can’t always control everything that happens in the world of work. But, good employers will strive to help their people develop the resilience they need to deal with some of the transformational changes they’re currently experiencing. In particular, if you’re restructuring, redeploying or downsizing in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic – don’t leave your employees to cope alone.
City CV offers a comprehensive range of outplacement services, including modules, webinars and a wellbeing helpline that will help your employees find ways to build their resilience and apply this skill set to challenging workplace situations.
For more details, call us on +44(0)20 7100 6656 or get in touch.