Why Leadership Should Build Resilience at the Workplace
3 Tips to Get Started
The workplace is often thought of as a place where personal life shouldn’t mix with professional life. We pretend that whatever is happening beyond our laptop and our 9-5 isn’t affecting our performance, and we are often afraid to let anyone know our struggles for fear of retaliation or some sort of punishment.
But let’s face it. Every one of us knows that what happens at home directly affects how we feel at work, just as much as a crappy day at work can affect our home life.
It’s a shame that we are expected to perform like machines even when things are falling apart.
Changes in the Workplace for Leadership
For leadership, there is a growing trend where empathy is encouraged and applauded. But it’s one thing to say, “I’m sorry you’re going through that, but can you still meet the numbers this month?”, and entirely another thing to say, “I’m sorry you’re going through that, how can we help during this difficult time?”
Empathy and compassion are great, but sometimes it’s not enough.
Sometimes we need to do something to help others make it through. Just like we would for family members and friends, our coworkers and direct reports could use some positive action and not so much reprimand and repercussions.
More Walk, Less Talk
Imagine working for a company that helped you get through your life tragedies instead of telling you “It’s just not working out”, leaving you with the additional burden of not having an income. Working in an environment like that would increase performance and loyalty after the storm ended.
Years ago, my ex-husband committed a pretty horrible crime. And instead of offering me the chance to stay with my employer, I was told I would have to leave since we entered the ministry together. We were a package deal, and his sins directly affected my employment. Not only was I losing my marriage and a father to my kids, I was losing my income and my home as well.
I’ll never forget that they abandoned me when I needed them most. As far as employment goes, I would never trust them again and would never recommend them to a friend seeking employment.
Now, I’m not saying that a company has to shell out tons of money to help an employee get through their circumstances, nor that certain crimes should be overlooked.
What I am saying though is that perhaps companies should take their empathy and compassion and take it a step further…
Helping Employees Become More Resilient
An employee who is mentally prepared for the worst will not only be better equipped to handle the worst, they’ll also be better prepared to maintain performance at work and will come out stronger after the storm is over.
For leadership worried about costs and productivity, consider that according to a 2014 study published by PwC, for every $1 spent on initiatives for resilient and mentally healthy workplaces, there was a return of $2.30. The return came from reduced healthcare expenses, increased productivity, and reduced PTO/turnover rates.
If you’re thinking to yourself, “ok, but how can we do that?”, you’re in luck! Here are some key ideas and tips on how you can help your employees prepare for and endure the personal storms in their lives.
Training and courses
We have training on compliance, cyber security, sexual harassment, how to use specific software, and so much more. Why not offer some training and resources on how to be more resilient?
Find a course that you can purchase for your company and make it mandatory. Also make it something that they can revisit in their times of need.
Consider something with workbooks that they can print out and take home, or something with confidential prompts and questions that can help them in their real-life situations.
You might even consider finding a book that you can purchase for everyone.
Speakers at Conferences or a Workshop
Bringing in speakers who are experts in the industry is commonplace, but what if you brought in one more speaker to talk about resiliency?
I am willing to bet that over 75% of your employees are dealing with something at home, something that impacts their emotional wellbeing, distracts them throughout the day, and might be impacting their performance.
Having a speaker come in for a 1-hour segment on resiliency might just be the catalyst they need to get through their situations and back to where they need to be during their workday.
Resist talking about work during breaks and lunches
I have spoken forbidden words. People who are in favor of working at the office love citing the watering hole, I mean the breakroom, as a great place to network and be seen professionally.
But consider this - not everyone visits the breakroom to find someone to talk to about yet another project or urgent problem. Some actually go there to get a break.
Studies have shown the importance of taking breaks throughout the workday, even between meetings. It allows employees to rest, to recharge, to reset their mind and their attention, and to destress. If your employees feel like there is no opportunity to get any moment of peace or to avoid talking about work, there’s a chance they are being burnt out little-by-little.
Avoid speaking about work in the breakroom and during lunch. Give employees some time to decompress and recenter themselves.
Takeaways
Leadership loves to talk about putting ideas into action. So let’s put your ideas for empathy and compassion into action by helping your teams be resilient. In the end, you will:
help your employees effectively handle stress and challenges both inside and outside of their 9-5
decrease PTO, turnovers, and health costs
create an environment that is positive and full of people that perform better despite challenges
If you have a lack of true priorities, too much to do and too little done, a budget thrown out the window, and your people are burnt out, then this guide is for you.
In it, we'll dig into:
5 common myths and mistakes and what you should do instead
Quick steps to get you implemented in 90 days
Discussion points for every area of your business, inside and out
You can also set up a 30-minute call for a quick discussion on your situation and how to start getting unstuck.
Ready to improve your resiliency?
If you want to go deeper with me, then subscribe to my Substack to receive the more specific training via email! I’ll be posting insights, exercises, and more on Substack in upcoming weeks!
If you know someone that’s struggling and in need of some resiliency, please do share the post and publication!