Resilience in the Face of Rising Workplace Pressures
Resilience in the work environment is being discussed more often these days and in the headlines more frequently. Due to Coronavirus plus improving technology, rapid change and disruption, many organizations have a work environment with urgent deadlines. Here employees have to work under great pressure to deliver the work in less time. Employees are expected to ensure that their work is of high quality to help their employer become the market leaders. They should be aware of the latest trends and adapt to them, manage more effectively and work harder to deliver better results.
For the current business conditions it is necessary for teams and their leaders to be more sensitive and respond quickly to the desires and requirements of their customers. They should also be able to deal with failure, rejection and new challenges effectively.
Stress Reduction vs. Employee Resilience
If a business wishes to retain its edge under these conditions, it should be able to innovate. The leaders should take the initiative personally and work harder without adversely affecting their health or that of their team. Being resilient can greatly help a business and its management succeed in the current business situation. To make the work environment more resilient, instead of focusing on stress reduction, which many organizations are trying, it is advisable to lead teams more effectively and help build team and individual resilience.
Tips for Building Resilience
Some tips which will help make the members of the team at the workplace more resilient are listed below:
- Only focusing on doing the work without thinking or planning can lead to over-working and fatigue
- Identify what causes stress which makes it difficult for employees to focus on their work. The leaders should understand how the increase in the work output expected, change in the pace or rate of doing work will affect employees’ concentration
- The team should be able to adapt to changing conditions to remain relevant. The work which a team member was doing to-date, is likely to change in the next five years, so that they remain useful for the business. The employee should be willing to adapt to the change in work profile and also improve his skills to adapt to changing work requirements
- Employees should be open to feedback and use it constructively to improve performance
- It is important to accept failure and use it learn and grow when there is more pressure. If the team is discouraged by failure, it will not innovate to prevent further failure, and this will adversely affect growth.
At a time when there is a lot of uncertainty and hardship in the economy, it is important to ensure that all the team members feel that they are working together, their concerns and heard by the team leaders who understand them and will help resolving issues. This will help a business achieve its goals of productivity which are linked to employee well being and performance.
Below are some resources available to help workers dealing with work or personal anxiety or stress and help build resilience.
Resources
If the pandemic is taking a toll on your team’s mental health (or your own), know that you’re not alone. CNN identifies some resources that can help those in the United States:
- The Crisis Text Line is available by texting 741741. Trained volunteers and crisis counselors are staffed 24/7, and the service is free.
- The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Disaster Distress Helpline provides 24/7, 365-day-a-year crisis counseling and support to people experiencing emotional distress related to disasters. Call 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.
- For the Frontlines offers health care professionals and essential workers free 24/7 crisis counseling and support for workers dealing with stress, anxiety, fear or isolation related to Coronavirus.
Additional Resources
For more support, check out CNN’s guide to giving and getting help during the pandemic.
For more information on resilience, check Flexicrew online or connect with a Flexicrew professional 866.720.FLEX (3539).