Our resilience, or capacity to bounce back and even thrive in pressured times, is critical in workplaces today. With higher workloads, declining resources and frequent change, together with the hectic pace of personal lives, resilience is almost a key to survival.
While strategies to build resilience have long been of interest in the arenas of parenting, education and disaster recovery, less focus has been placed on how these ideas can be translated into building resilient workplaces.
Resilient people are more optimistic, adaptable and independent. They are also better at solving problems and have sound levels of self-control. Resilient teams have similar characteristics, and find it easier to rebound from setbacks and adapt to change and pressure.
All of these characteristics can be developed according to author and Organisational Psychologist, Kath McEwen, in her book, “Building Resilience at Work”.
Resilience is not just about learning to cope better in your job, it is also about being adaptable and best positioning yourself for the next inevitable challenge or setback. In essence it is being the best you can be in the environment in which you work.
Kath McEwen and research psychologist, Dr Peter Winwood have developed a tool that measures your personal workplace resilience, by identifying seven proven ways to build your personal resilience at work, known as the Resilience at Work (RAW) Scale. The seven components of the RAW Scale interrelate and contribute to your overall work resilience, are not static and therefore you need continually invest in developing them.
The seven proven way to develop your workplace resilience are:
1. Living Authentically, which means, knowing and retaining your personal values, acting on your strengths and regulating your emotions;
2. Finding your Calling, whereby your work offers purpose and a sense of belonging. It also aligns with your core values and beliefs;
3. Maintaining Perspective, which means you stay optimistic and keep solution focused when things go wrong;
4. Mastering Stress, which means you have work and life routines that help you manage your everyday stressors;
5. Interacting Cooperatively, which means you seek feedback, advice and support and also provide support readily to others;
6. Staying Healthy, which means you maintain a god level of physical fitness, have a healthy diet and get adequate sleep;
7. Building Networks, which means you develop and maintain the personal and professional support networks you need at home and at work in order to perform well in your job.
So, if your workplace has, high workload, tight deadlines, frequent change, setbacks, uncertainty or unpredictability or, people with anger, distress or disappointment, chances are you need to stay resilient.
We have recently become accredited to use the RAW Scale and offer resilient building programs for the individual, team or division of any business small or large.
Please get in touch with us today and find out more about sustaining optimal performance through resilience in your workplace.
Reference: “Building Resilience at Work”. Kath McEwen www.workingwithresilience.com.au
Business Tips
Sustaining Optimal Performance Through Resilience
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- Category: Management
