In the workplace, there are two types of skills. These skills are distinguished as hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills are tangible, like how many words a minute you can type. These skills play a massive role in how well you can perform your job.
Soft skills are things like our disposition; are you kind and cheerful or critical and grumpy.
I want to focus on how the soft skill of resilience at work can make your job more enjoyable and help set you apart from others.
What Resilience at Work Means?
Resilience means being able to bounce back from adversity or setbacks. It means having the ability to recover quickly when things don't go right.
Resilience is handling challenging situations and problems in the workplace without losing focus. Resilient employees are determined and persistent. Their grit and determination help them overcome obstacles. Resilient people can respond to challenges and uncertainty.
Let's look at 15 Specific Resilience at Work Examples:
1. Make Calculated Decisions
Success does not always come easy, as many people are aware. Most people are hesitant to take chances for fear of looking foolish in front of others.
On the other hand, resilient people are always looking for new challenges. They take calculated chances instead of playing it safe, making prudent decisions, or rehearsing their thoughts repeatedly.
Risk-taking is a way of life for resilient employees, who use it to advance their careers and achieve their goals.
2. During Change Stay Focused
Uncertainty at work can be stressful, especially if you've been doing things the same way for a long time with no substantial shifts in the environment.
After a certain amount of familiarity and confidence in your career, it might be tough to adapt, but those who have a strong work ethic can persevere in unexpected changes. They're not the type to let worries about the future get in the way of their work.
3. Be Innovative
As a result of their fearlessness in finding answers to challenges that others might not have considered, you will stand out by being innovative. Thinking outside the box will give you a leg up on the competition.
Furthermore, they aren't afraid of being perceived as outliers at work because of their differences.
Unconventional thinkers have no fear of criticism or rejection since they don't shy away from being distinctive.
4. Think Positive
People with high levels of resilience maintain their composure in the face of adversity.
They know what they need to do to thrive in any situation. They also understand that negative thinking doesn't lead to positive results. Instead, they think positively and keep their minds focused on solutions.
Throughout the day, take a moment and evaluate your emotional state. Are you experiencing positive emotions or negative emotions?
We can change our emotions by shifting our thoughts. I strive to have more positive emotions at work each day.
5. Don't Tolerate Inappropriate Behavior
Toxic coworkers deplete positive energy in the workplace by spreading negativity and having a negative attitude.
Resilient people know the importance of maintaining a professional distance from toxic coworkers to maintain a positive work environment in which they may be authentically themselves.
You don't need to avoid a toxic colleague if you see one. But, it would be best if you courteously let them know that their bad attitude affects the workplace.
You don't have to tolerate inappropriate behavior from others and should speak up when someone is acting inappropriately toward you or another coworker.
6. Be Flexible
Learning to deal with hardship can help you build resilience.
Personality attribute tenacity helps deal with challenging circumstances. You can become more resilient by understanding how to lessen your vulnerability to stress and adversity. After going through a traumatic scenario, it's important to be able to bounce back.
Workers who can cope successfully in hardship are known as "resilient." When faced with adversity, they know how to handle it. They are resilient in the face of adversity. Even when things aren't going their way, they can still put in the effort. However, they are also able to keep themselves from making a mistake.
7. Look on the Bright Side
Life is unpredictable, and we will all face difficulties. Some people can maintain a positive attitude in the face of change or redundancy.
You can choose to believe that everything happens for a reason and that every day teaches you something new.
8. Be Calm During Crisis
Most people get stressed out when you have too many things to do and not enough time to get them all done. You can retain your cool even in challenging situations by accessing your personal resilience.
The ability to retain composure under duress is a characteristic of resilient people.
For instance, an employee may be tasked with completing an essential assignment in a limited amount of time.
Rather than panicking, the individual accepts the challenge and maintains their composure, even though meeting the deadline will be difficult.
You can use mindfulness techniques to help you stay calm when things don't go according to plan.
You'll feel less anxious and more able to handle whatever comes your way.
9. Build Your Alliance Team
A team alliance can be a great way to build strong relationships with coworkers who are willing to help each other. It's also a good idea to make sure your team has a diverse set of skills to cover all aspects of the business.
If you are anything like me, you may like to work independently, but others are counting on you. If you look at the big picture, you can reach out to others and build relationships, or can we call it our resilient team.
This can be tough, but it is one of those opportunities for growth. And who knows how just one relationship might impact your ongoing development.
10. Use Past Experience
We all make mistakes, even at work. But, resilient people know to learn from them.
Understand that failure is a part of life, but instead of seeing it as a setback, see it as an opportunity to grow and learn.
The best way to learn from your failures is to reflect on how you handled yourself, your shortcomings, what brought you down, and why it failed.
You can also take comfort in knowing that even the most successful people have tried things that failed.
11. Deal With Disappointment Gracefully
We can learn from watching professional athletes for this one. In sports, there are always winners and losers. The resilient competitor shows good sportsmanship even when they lose.
It's natural to be disappointed when things go wrong at work. However, like the resilient competitor, accept the outcome, acknowledge your disappointment, and prepare for the next challenge.
Resilient people don't let a negative situation lead them to make poor choices.
They're honest with themselves when things go wrong, but they don't dwell on it. They regard failure as an opportunity to improve and become a more valuable part of the team.
Keep your chin up when things don't go your way as part of your emotional well-being.
12. Boundaries
Healthy boundaries help people feel safe and comfortable at work. They also protect employees from being exploited or harassed by their supervisors or coworkers.
Boundaries are important because some people tend to overstep their authority or try to control others.
Resilient people understand that everyone needs space and respect. They know not to cross the line.
Whether you are in a management position or employee, clearly establish boundaries and then share them with your colleagues when necessary.
13. Be a Problem-Solver
Resilient people are problem-solvers. They can deal with problems and challenges by finding solutions. They don't get overwhelmed by stress or anxiety. They have a positive attitude about life. They're optimistic and hopeful. They believe they can solve any problem.
One of the most important skills that I have used and tried to share with my coworkers is anticipating confrontation. This strategy allows me to be a proactive problem-solver.
14. Keep Balanced
There is more to life than work. It is essential to keep a balance between your daily life and work.
If you are working too hard at work, you may be missing out on other things in your life. There are many ways to ensure that you have enough time to spend with your family or friends.
One way is to take some time off work. This can help you relax and enjoy yourself.
Another thing that you can do is to set aside time each week to focus on something else besides work. This could mean going to the gym or walking around the neighborhood.
15. Give Praise to Others
Resilient people have healthy self-worth. When others succeed, it does not intimidate resilient workers.
Instead, they appreciate the effort and congratulate those who achieve success.
With resilience in your work, you can go about your job with confidence, not demanding special treatment, and promptly address problems without upsetting others.
You can seek counsel and input from others if needed, but in many instances, you don't need to wait for management approval before acting, which many managers appreciate.
Why is Resilience so Important?
Resilience is a vital life skill rooted in human survival. Adaptability is the ability to cope with stress and unexpected challenges.
Stress at work affects personal and professional outcomes (Rees, Breen, Cusack, and Hegney, 2015). Workplace stress is linked to depression, anxiety, and burnout (Rees et al., 2015).
Pines and Maslach first described the effects of a stressful workplace in 1978, coining the term "burnout" to describe a state of physical and emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feeling of low personal accomplishment.
Workplace burnout has a significant impact on both productivity and cost. Burnout is linked to higher absenteeism and lower productivity, not to mention adverse effects on employees. Psychologically resilient employees can handle stress better and avoid burnout. The employer benefits!
Optimism, zest, curiosity, energy, and openness to new experiences have all been linked to resilience (Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004). Positive emotions are extremely valuable in the workplace. Fredrickson (2004) argues that positive emotions lead to 'thought-action repertoires,' which lead to an urge to think/act in a specific direction.
Positive emotions (engendered by resilience) can increase activity, open employees' eyes to new possibilities, and increase the likelihood of more creative workplace solutions (Fredrickson, 2004).
They act as a 'buffer' against workplace stress (Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004). How? Positive emotions allow people to see the positive side of a stressful situation.
Positive affect also increases problem-focused coping, which is beneficial in the workplace. Optimistic people tend to see the positive in everyday events and experiences. Positive emotions thus promote positivity at work.
Resilience is important for its effect on psychosocial factors like burnout, adaptive workplace behaviors, and stress-buffering. Resilience is linked to physical health. Tugade and Fredrickson (2004) discovered that a "resilience mindset is reflected in the body".
Employees with better physical health are better able to work and thus better adapt to adversity! It's a win-win.
Conclusion
Whatever your career goals are workplace resilience is one of the key skills to job satisfaction.
Over the past couple of years, we have seen many people leave the workforce, referred to as "great resignations".
Who knows all the reasons for this: heavy workload, stressful times, or just the monotony of day-to-day tasks.
It could also be for physical wellbeing, mental health, extra time to evaluate the next career step towards a dream career.
Whatever it may be and wherever you are at in your life I hope you find these examples of resilience at work helpful.
