4 ways to Increase Resilience and Decrease Stress at Work
Stress. It is a word we have all heard before. It is a response that we all share. This article explores stress and the role resilience plays in reducing stress at work. Read more to learn what you can do to build more resilience in the workplace.
Work-related Stress
Over the course of our life, we spend a large majority of our time working. So, how important is work-related stress? Well, at work we can be exposed to a variety of situations which can result in stress. These can range from minor to major stressors, whether it is a difficult project, tight deadlines, or managing colleagues. Stress can impact anyone at any level within an organisation, from the senior management to frontline employees. The day-to-day demands of work can sometimes leave us feeling the unavoidable pressure of work-related obligations.
When pressure builds, it can feel overwhelming or unmanageable which can lead to stress. Experiencing stress from time to time is normal even if you enjoy what you do. However, it becomes a problem when it is excessive and ongoing. This can potentially impact your physical, emotional and mental wellbeing, as well as the performance of the business.
A life beyond work-related stress
Stress is how our body responds to pressure which can be caused by various experiences and life events. Our capacity to cope with stress varies from person to person. In this current work climate of organisational change, instability of employment, and deadlines, employee success is dependent upon an individual’s ability to cope with and even thrive when it comes to workplace stress.
What is resilience?
Resilience is our ability to continually stand up if we have been knocked down, and it has been described as a person's ability to ‘bounce back’. Some of the qualities associated with resilience include:
- Resourcefulness
- Self confidence
- Curiousness
- Self-discipline
- Level-headedness
- Flexibility
Resilience is about more than just coping, it’s about being malleable, adapting and learning from different types of experiences, and moving forward in a positive way. In the workplace this equates to an individual being able to manage various tasks, from challenging colleagues, to a difficult workload.
Building Resilience at Work
Resilience consists of multiple factors, these include one’s thoughts, feelings, behaviours, actions, and skills. So, what can you do to increase resilience at work? Jackson, Firtko, and Edenborough (2007) suggest that personal resilience can be developed and strengthened by implementing various strategies. Adversity in any context can impact a person’s wellbeing, but learning a few ways to build resilience can reduce the effect of workplace stress. Below is a list of four self-development strategies which can help you begin to use at work.
Build Positive Work Relationships
An important part of building resilience is social support, and maintaining relationships is a big part of that. Building a professional network is vital in the workplace. These relationships can be a source of support and guidance during high stress periods in the workplace.
Positivity
Experiencing stress isn’t always easy to handle. Resilient people have been found to draw on positive emotions during stressful experiences. Engaging in positive emotions and laughing more often are connected to improved emotional and physical outcomes. It has been suggested that this can also lessen stress by reducing negative emotion. Building resilience also involves seeing the potential benefits of an experience instead of focusing on the negative aspects of the situation. Overall, having a positive outlook and increasing positive emotions can enable you to better adapt to adversity and feel a sense of control when it comes to your work environment.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence has been described as one’s ability to understand their own emotional needs and also understand the emotional needs of those you encounter in your workplace. Understanding your emotional needs, reactions and its effect on others can help you to gain awareness of how to better cope with adversity and stress. The first step involves understanding your emotional state, which includes your positive and negative emotions. This can help in developing resilience and finding different ways of coping for future experiences. A great way to do this is to begin journaling and using strategies that involve self-reflection.
Work-life balance and Spirituality
The concept of connectedness, meaning at work and living a balanced life has been documented in the past. Tugade and Fredrickson (2004) recognised that ‘a belief system that provides existential meaning, a cohesive life narrative and an appreciation of the uniqueness of oneself’ (p. 4) is in building personal resilience.
No matter what your spiritual beliefs are, finding a healthy work-life balance has been identified as an important part of building personal resilience. In this current age, where just about everything is online, things can sometimes seem difficult. Having time to relax and unwind is important, and you can do this by participating in a range of activities outside of work. This can include activities which are emotionally, spiritually and physically nurturing. Bouncing back from stressful experiences requires you to have energy and you can’t do that if you're feeling depleted. We all need time to relax and unwind.
How we view stress and adversity can impact our ability to succeed. Challenges are a part of life, but how we choose to respond to them can shape the way we move forward.
While resilience is not the only answer, it is part of the solution. Managing stress and other work-related problems requires you to have the right strategies. Explore your resilience potential by using the examples above.
