Following on from our recent blog on the benefits of resilience in the workplace, in this article we will explore how you can improve resilience within your workplace. Resilience is a skill that enables high performance within the workplace. In this article, we will explore the important ways how to improve resilience in the workplace.
Resilience and its effect on productivity and performance is becoming increasingly recognized. Therefore it is becoming more of an essential skill for employees to improve in order to benefit their workplace and to bring value to their role. Whether you manage a team or are wanting to improve resilience on an individual and personal level, resilience is a skill that will ultimately benefit the overall culture of the organisation.
Sometimes a shift in a mindset is needed in order to see positive effects. In order to improve resilience, it is it useful to change the way that you view problems at work. Instead of viewing a problem in the workplace as being detrimental, it is more valuable to view problems in the workplace as being challenges to be overcome. In the process of overcoming these challenges, they are opportunities to grow, learn and to develop. Without these challenges to overcome, you would not reach the level that you are.
It is good to work hard, but in order to maintain high productivity at work it is necessary to have enough time to relax. Relaxation opportunities improve your resilience at work. Opportunities to relax outside of work ensure you are more resilient at work and more able to handle the challenges and pressures in the workplace. Often referred to as detachment breaks, it is also important to take regular short breaks within the working day in order to preserve energy, maximise productivity and prevent burnout.
Your colleagues are a good source of knowledge. Their different backgrounds and experiences will bring useful perspectives to the challenges you face. Your colleagues can offer support and useful guidance to navigate these challenges, and a strong support structure within the team results in higher levels of resilience. Colleagues are the first line of support within the workplace, and seeking their advice can be all that is needed to navigate challenges and overcome problems within the workplace.
Leaders who have high levels of resilience create a culture of resilience within the organisation. In order to build a resilient organisation, you need resilient leaders. To create a resilient culture within the organisation, it is important to value managing stress and pressure well and the ability to calmly overcome challenges when selecting the leaders of your teams within your organisation. Resilient leaders also handle mistakes well and they hide their emotions so they do not create a culture of tension throughout the rest of the team.
The workplace environment itself can contribute to the resilience and wellbeing of the employees. Small features such as natural light and open space can improve the workplace environment. In turn, this will make a contribution to the wellbeing and the resilience of the employees within the workplace.
Technology and smartphones ensure that employees are contactable and can be connected to their work 24 hours a day. However, in order to improve resilience in the workplace, employees need to be able to relax after work. They need to be able to switch off and recharge from work, in order to come into work refreshed and ready for each day. Workers who relax after work are much more likely to overcome stressful situations at work and to recover from setbacks. In order to improve resilience within the workplace, leaders of the organisation should allow their staff to relax after work, in order to improve resilience within their workplace and to get the most out of their staff.
Flexible working can be another way that employers improve resilience within the workplace. Sometimes the boundaries between work and personal lives can clash. Childcare arrangements and personal appointments can become complicated to manage while working. More and more employers recognise this, and paired with the convenience and accessibility of working from home, they support their employees by allowing them to work from home or to work flexibly when needed. By accommodating the needs of their employees, employers can improve the resilience within their workforce, by assisting them in navigating complicated situations by flexibly adapting their working arrangements.
Resilience training is an essential aspect of growing a resilient culture within your workplace. It is an effective way to develop your resilience, and to encourage and nurture resilience in the rest of your team. Resilience training instils a calm reaction to change and challenges within the workplace. Through resilience training, employees learn how to manage and navigate challenging changes within an organisation. In navigating changes, encouraging a change of attitude to a more positive one is key to training your employees to become more resilient.
Resilience within the workplace is ultimately an important focus for every business. It helps to shape the culture of the business, and the way a business reacts and overcomes challenges. We offer a variety of courses in which you can learn how to improve the resilience within your organisation and other vital skills to improve on within your role to benefit your wider organisation Our Strategic Wellbeing and Resilience Programme - CMI Level 7 outlines the key aspects to focus on in order to improve personal and organisational wellbeing and resilience.
To find out more about our courses, visit our Courses page, and click on the relevant course. Alternatively, or if you’d like more information before booking, email us at enquiries@inpd.co.uk, send us a message using the form on our Contact page, or call us on 0161 826 3139. We look forward to hearing from you and advising you on the right course for you.