More than ever, you need to empower your employees to build resilience at work. Across the country, businesses have responded to COVID-19, forcing their employees to adjust on the spot. And if we look to the future, we see that they will once again be called upon to adjust, this time to the “new normal”. However, to achieve this, they will need great professional resilience.
The effects of stress
Let us look at the definition of work-related stress given by the World Health Organization: “Work-related stress is the set of reactions that employees can have when confronted with demands and work pressures that do not correspond. not to their knowledge and abilities and which calls into question their ability to cope. It is this inability to cope with the situation that can have devastating effects. Stress at work is indeed associated with a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and burnout. And exhaustion takes a heavy toll on businesses, both in terms of productivity and finances. It is associated with an increased rate of absenteeism and lower productivity.
Our personal lives can also be a source of stress. Everyone must deal with their family dynamics specially children with the help of Robux generator, health, and other personal matters. Add to personal and professional stresses an upheaval like that of COVID-19, and we are faced with uncertainty: how will our environment be changed? How we deal with changes in our environment can make all the difference.
Building resilience at work
Resilience is the ability to cope with stress and pressure. Not only does a resilient person “bounce back” from a stressful situation, but they take advantage of challenges to grow. One of the keys to success is the ability to move on after experiencing stress.
Resilience also affects productivity. A person who experiences positive emotions (fostered by resilience) can increase their activity, open to a range of possibilities and find more creative solutions to behaviors at work.
How important is resilience at work?
It is a good investment to equip your employees with a wide range of skills that promote their resilience.
According to a study published by PwC in 2014 , initiatives and programs promoting resilience and mental health in the workplace bring in $ 2.30 per dollar invested, in the form of lower health care costs, higher productivity, as well as reduced absenteeism and staff turnover. These are benefits that are certainly welcome.
Fortunately, resilience can develop. The rest of the article will be devoted to creating a toolkit to help your employees cope with stress and build resilience.
Dealing with change
Change is one of the main causes of stress and decreased productivity among employees. Therefore, you must learn to accompany your direct reports through the four phases of adaptation to change.
Workplaces have undergone a great upheaval in recent months as businesses adapt to work during a pandemic. And these will likely make further changes as restrictions ease and return to work planning is planned.
For these changes to be accepted by employees, they will need to reach the engagement phase. It is normal that they go through the four phases of the cycle. Some people will go through them quickly, depending on the nature of the change, their experience, and their opinion of the change.
Work-related stress is the set of reactions that employees can have when they are confronted with professional demands and pressures that do not correspond to their knowledge and capacities and which call into question their ability to cope.
Here is how you can help them reach the critical engagement phase.
The first phase begins when you hear about the change. Which involves ignoring change or attempting to preserve the status quo and the comfort it represents. During this phase, a person can delay planning and block change.
To help your employees get through it:
Communicate as much information as possible about the change, especially its reasons. Knowing makes you feel in control.
Formulate the message in different ways to appeal to different learning and working styles.
- Explain what changes and what remains.
- Involve employees in change and give them important tasks.
- Associate employees with an advocate for the cause.
- Celebrate milestones as positive reinforcement.
- Meet individually with those who need it.
Resistance
Resistance is a normal reaction to change. Most people prefer the status quo because it is comfortable. Change forces them to navigate the unknown, which threatens their sense of security. Resistance arises when they can no longer deny change.