Home / Explore the latest talent topics / Resilience

Resilience

Connect with an expert

LinkedInXFacebookWhatsAppEmailSubscribeShare

What is resilience?

Resilience is a term that many of us are familiar with and is typically used to describe an individual’s ability to overcome challenge and change. However, like many psychological terms that make their way into the popular consciousness, there is a tendency for it to either be misused or to be interpreted in many ways. In the psychological literature, it has also been referred to as ‘hardiness,’ ‘mental toughness,’ ‘emotional resilience,’ ‘emotional agility’ and a variety of other labels.

This has led to a range of definitions and conceptualisations. As with anything, the way it is defined can have a significant impact on what it is and more importantly, what value it confers to the individual. One definition that incorporates a range of models shares how resilience is “an individual’s capacity to adapt positively to pressure, setbacks, challenge and change in order to optimise performance and maintain wellbeing.”

Why is resilience in the workplace important?

here is a large body of research that supports the value of workplace resilience in relation to a number of occupational outcomes. In the short-term, resilience enables us to survive and get through setbacks, challenges and changes that we are experiencing. This is because research has shown that resilience acts as a buffer against the experience of stress, as well as ‘burnout’. Burnout is defined as physical and emotional exhaustion due to excessive stress, resulting in fatigue, quickness to anger and susceptibility to illness.

Resilient people are likely to be more creative, able to adapt to change and persist in the face of adversity. This behaviour results in improved performance in a rapidly transforming workplace. Resilience has been directly linked to increases in performance in the workplace, the military, sports and education. It has also been shown to have a positive impact on other variables including engagement, organisational commitment, workplace happiness, job satisfaction and wellbeing.

Discover more about the importance of resilience in leadership.

How does resilience help wellbeing?

Research has shown that an individual’s resilience and wellbeing are directly related. Typically, individuals who are more resilient are more likely to experience wellbeing. Consequently, developing mental resilience through training has been used successfully in many organisations to help support the maintenance and development of wellbeing. The psychological strategies that underpin being resilient have been shown to increase psychological wellbeing and mental health.

Start investing in your employees’ wellbeing to enhance performance by creating a resilient and adaptable culture.

How effective is resilience training?

Research shows that resilience can be enhanced in individuals, and training is an effective way of developing resilience in the workplace. In fact, a review of 268 studies concludes that the efficacy of resilience training has an overall significant effect on developing resilience (Liu et al, 2020).

However, employee resilience training is only as effective as the way it is implemented and deployed. Therefore, there are a range of features that can influence its effectiveness including how the program is designed, the quality of the facilitation, the motivation of the individual, and the organisational commitment to help support the employee’s development. Typically, resilience coaching is shown to be the most effective form of resilience training, with resilience workshops delivered by experts being the second most effective.

Why is resilience important for businesses?

As much as market forces and operational systems are critical to an organisation’s success, fundamentally it is individuals who truly make the difference. An organisation’s capacity to survive, adapt, recover or thrive is due to the bravery, creativity and strength of resilient employees, working together to create effective organisations. Researchers have repeatedly shown the benefits of resilience in a work environment, with studies highlighting that resilient employees are better performers at work, experience greater work engagement and are more open to learning (Malik & Garg, 2017).