Resilience in the workplace: Why it matters and how to build it

Resilience in the workplace is more than just bouncing back – it's a skill employees and organisations can develop to thrive in change.  

Because let’s face it: stress, change, and uncertainty – these are all factors that are part of modern-day work.

But, when an organisation creates a culture of employee resilience, motivation also increases. Aon found that 86% of resilient employees are highly motivated, compared to only 44% of those who are not resilient.

Now, here’s the important question:  

How do you go about achieving resilience?

All will be answered in this article; we’ll cover:

• What resilience in the workplace means, and why it matters

• The difference between employee and workforce resilience

• Frameworks for building resilience  

• How to build resilience in the workplace

• What resilience means to Paralympian Mariska Beijer

• A real-world example of resilience  

• How to overcome challenges related to resilience

What is resilience in the workplace?

Resilience in the workplace means that employees can adapt to change, navigate challenges and uncertainty, all whilst maintaining their productivity and wellbeing.  

Employees who are resilient are adaptable and motivated, even when there are obstacles in their work or role.  

And many ask: is resilience a skill that can be learned or an innate trait? But the truth is, it’s not something that comes easily to a lot of people. Therefore, it can be considered as a human skill.

It’s something that takes patience and practice; indeed, a conscious effort needs to be invested for an employee to become resilient.  

Furthermore, resilience is a skill that is in high demand by businesses.  

Research from CV-Library surveying 300 UK employers revealed that resilience was one of the top skills that employers are favouring right now, alongside adaptability and being able to balance work and personal life.

It’s also worth highlighting what the difference is between personal and professional resilience.  

On the one hand, personal resilience is grounded in an individual’s ability to navigate life’s challenges, such as family issues or financial issues.  

On the other hand, professional resilience is more focused around the capacity of the workplace - for example, stress management or dealing with setbacks.

Why resilience is important in the workplace

Workplace resilience is more than just a nice-to-have; it holds a strategic advantage both for the employees and the organisation.  

Here are five benefits to consider:  

1. Higher motivation  

Employees that develop resilience are more likely to feel driven.  

Overcoming challenges and obstacles, combined with contributing to the company’s success gives these employees a greater sense of purpose in their work.  

This leads to more enthusiasm and belonging.  

In that same research, Aon also reported that resilience boosts work enthusiasm by 45%, and concentration by 27%.  

2. Improved productivity  

When resilience is higher, so are productivity levels. This is because employees can focus on staying on track, even if they are faced with obstacles or challenges.  

In fact, Strengthify shared that teams with a high level of resilience are likely to be 31% more productive.  

3. Reduced burnout  

Resilience can build a culture of effective stress management; employees feel empowered to navigate stress in a healthier way.  

This in turn, contributes to a lower level of burnout, and studies demonstrate the urgency of tackling this problem. For example, BHSF reported that burnout costs UK businesses £102 billion a year, including lost productivity, high absenteeism and turnover.  

4. Innovation

Resilient employees will showcase a high level of problem-solving skills. This means that they’ll often come up with creative solutions to difficult problems.

The resilient mindset means that employees will see mistakes and difficulties as learning opportunities, versus blockers.  

5. Higher retention

Resilience in the workplace also provides a safe environment for employees to face their mistakes and uncertainty.  

They’re more likely to stay and ‘ride the wave of change’ instead of leaving, when times get tough.  

The Journal of Occupational Health Psychology reported that workers who have high levels of resilience will also have 10% to 20% lower rates of intent to quit.  

Employee resilience vs workforce resilience

‍Employee resilience is the individual capacity to adapt and grow through challenges. For example, an employee responds well to receiving constructive feedback on a project.

Workforce resilience is the collective strength that allows teams or organisations to withstand disruption. During the Covid-19 pandemic, this became paramount; many teams had to remain optimistic and adjust to ‘the new normal’, like the sudden switch to working from home.  

Frameworks and models for building resilience

When it comes to building resilience in the workplace, there isn’t one set answer or approach.  

Here are four frameworks you can try, to help you build an effective learning culture around resilience in your organisation.

The PERMA model

The PERMA model was theorised by psychologist Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology.  

It highlights five dimensions that are crucial for cultivating resilience, which can be effectively applied in both personal and professional settings.  

The five elements are as follows:

1 – Positive emotions

Joy, hope, love, gratitude, satisfaction, and fun. These all form the base of intrinsic motivation. Recognising and integrating these emotions into work can help in reframing attitudes towards challenges.  

How to apply at work: build an uplifting work environment. Think of it as nurturing a garden. By encouraging positive feedback and promoting a healthy work-life balance, you can provide employees with the tools they need to tackle challenges with a positive outlook.  

This is also known as cultural health; Matt Phelan – Co-Founder of the Happiness Index, shared his insights:

“If you think about all your employees as an ecosystem. Your job as a manager, is not to just tell everyone to grow – it's about providing the right tools and ingredients to ensure they’re able to grow.”

Curious to hear more from Matt? He joined The Moving Forward Podcast to talk about work happiness. Watch the full interview below.  

2 – Engagement  

This is associated with the common expression of ‘being in the zone’. It refers to being fully immersed in activities that enjoy and challenge a person, to the point where they lose track of time.  

How to apply at work: develop personal talent. Focus on offering growth opportunities for employees, so they can tap into their unique talents and passions. Create alignment with individual goals.  

3 – Relationships

Human beings have a deep need to be social and connect with others. Therefore, building strong and positive relationships increases workplace happiness, and in turn, creates a sense of belonging and protection.  

How to apply at work: facilitate opportunities for team bonding and social interactions – both in and out of the office. Whether it’s through team-building activities or the casual after-work aperitif, these interactions help to build trust and overall workplace satisfaction.  

4 – Meaning

Whether it’s volunteering, or acquiring a new skill to achieve a goal, committing energy towards activities that have greater meaning is a source of positive emotions and helps employees to effectively overcome difficulties.  

How to apply at work: keep your team in the loop about company projects and show them how their roles drive success. This sense of purpose means the work becomes more meaningful.  

5 – Accomplishment

Looking back and feeling satisfied over achieving a goal increases workplace security.    

How to apply at work: recognise and value the potential of your employees. This goes beyond simple recognition. Also consider: what are your employees’ values and aspirations? Use that as a springboard for developing career paths.  

The five pillars of resilience

According to High Speed Training, there are five core pillars that contribute towards building resilience in the workplace:

1 – Emotional wellbeing: this is about getting employees to think about how effectively they manage their emotions and thoughts. For example, it could be about assessing or reflecting on how someone reacts after being faced with an unexpected blocker in a project.  

2 – Inner drive: we’ve previously covered intrinsic motivation. Again, it’s rooted in an ability to understand how employees or teams are setting goals to maintain motivation.  

3 – Future focus mindset: do employees showcase strategic foresight? Can they act on previous mistakes and failures, to create positive changes going forward?

4 – Relationships: when times get tough, it’s important to lean into the network of friends, family, and colleagues. They can be a soundboard, provide perspective, and help see through obstacles.  

5 – Physical health: this stresses the importance of individuals looking after themselves. Factors such as getting enough sleep or exercise can contribute to an individual’s outlook on their work.  

The 7 Cs of resilience

‍The 7Cs model was developed by paediatrician Kenneth Ginsberg.  

Here is a brief explanation of each component:

• Competence: develop the skills that enable individuals to navigate challenges. In practice, this could be engaging in activities that push employees or a team outside of their comfort zone.  

• Confidence: the belief in someone’s own abilities and trusting that they have the power and ability to persevere.

• Connection: once again, this comes back to relationships. It’s important to surround yourself with a strong network of friends and mentors.  

• Character: by embracing traits like honesty and perseverance, individuals can maintain their resilience and navigate difficult situations with ease.  

• Contribution: it’s all about purpose. What is the goal for your employees or your team? This helps in fuelling motivation and creating a culture of resilience.  

• Coping: how do you manage stress? Are there effective and healthy coping strategies or tools that either an employee or a team can rely on when things get a little too real.  

• Control: in the workplace, there are always situations or circumstances beyond influence. Embracing this versus fearing it can create a strong sense of resilience.  

How to build resilience in the workplace: practical strategies

So far, we’ve covered the foundations on resilience in the workplace.  

Now, let’s see how the theory we’ve discussed, works in practice. Here are four practical strategies you can leverage:

Offer resilience training and development

It’s been established that resilience is a skill.  

Therefore, it requires consistent learning – and this is where training and development materials become extremely useful.

Having a learning programme enables resilience to become an attainable and scalable skill, and one that sticks within the organisation.  

Here’s an example structure for a learning programme around developing resilience in the workplace:  

Part 1: an introduction to resilience  

• Define resilience include the different types e.g. employee resilience.

• Cover different coping styles towards resilience.

Part 2: assess the current state of play

• Create an open feedback culture.  

• Encourage employees to answer questions about their organisation’s approach towards:

• Openness to admitting mistakes.

• Managers’ behaviour related to failures.  

• The objective here is to evaluate the current organisational culture regarding resilience.  

Part 3: theory on building resilience skills

• Explore the basic skills of resilient people e.g. ‘The 7Cs Framework’.

• How do individuals cope with stress and emotions?  

Part 4: apply building resilience skills

• Practice daily moments of gratitude to embrace the growth mindset  

• Encourage employees to apply the learnt concepts in their daily lives, and reflect on what they’re doing well, and how they could improve.

Foster psychological safety

Resilience and psychological safety go hand-in-hand.  

Amy C. Edmonson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, describes psychological safety as the following:  

‘People are confident that candour and vulnerability are welcome in their workplace. They believe they will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, or mistakes.’

Employees feel comfortable to share their challenges, ask for help, and learn from mistakes.  

Normalise sharing recent setbacks through scheduling regular moments or check-ins with teams.  

• What are employees struggling with?  

• What is going well that perhaps could help or inspire others within the team?

• How are team members coping with their workload?

Read more in this psychological safety guide.  

Promote wellbeing and work life balance

Resilient employees will also demonstrate a healthy work-life balance.  

And it’s worth noting that every employee can and should set their own journey when it comes to this topic.  

It doesn’t need to be a one-size fits all approach, as Roland Grootenboer, Keynote Speaker and former part of the People Operations team at Google, points out:  

“It’s not about generations, or the four-day week, or even working from home or the office. It’s layered, and unique to every team. Try what feels right, come up with new ideas, and then stick to it.”  

For more insights on work-life balance, listen to the full Moving Forward episode with Roland.  

Strengthen leadership support

Workforce resilience starts at the top.  

Leading by example creates a culture of authentic leadership. If leaders show that they’re not afraid to share their challenges and mistakes, employees will follow.  

Anne Koopman-Schmidt, founder of Lead Like YOU! echoed this sentiment:

“By showing up as yourself, you’re opening up the floor for others to be vulnerable. It’s important to have open conversations about mistakes, as well as your strengths.”  

She added that leaders who show resilience will be grounded in kindness, empathy, and psychological safety.”

Anne is also a strong advocate for applying ‘the 7Cs of resilience’ in leadership.  

Learning from role models: Mariska Beijer on resilience

When it comes to resilience in the workplace, we can learn a lot from Paralympian Mariska Beijer.  

Diagnosed with kidney cancer at the age of one year old, Mariska faced numerous obstacles including multiple surgeries and chronic illnesses.  

Despite these challenges, she transformed her life through sheer determination and resilience.  

She joined the Moving Forward podcast to share her story and shed light on what resilience means in today’s modern working world.  

Watch the full interview below and keep reading for a couple of key takeaways.  

Resilience starts with a growth mindset

For Mariska, embracing the growth mindset is the core vehicle that enables her and her team to develop resilience, every time they’re on the court.  

She shared:

“With the national team, we say every day that we try to be a little bit better than yesterday. It’s okay to fail, as long as you keep on trying to improve. We define a good streak on experience: you win some plays, and you also lose some.”  

Prioritise ‘resilience enablement’

Resilience isn’t a skill that is developed overnight. In fact, no human skill is built in this way.  

Mariska believes that resilience is built when the right tools are available; she contextualised this based on her experience on the court:

“The coach puts us in a good position to shine. He gives us the tools to succeed; for instance, we have a set of strategies to have an offense. He provides the foundation and it’s up to us to execute.”  

“Similarly for a team lead or a manager, they should ensure their employees have the right tools to succeed in the business.”  

Example of resilience in action: Microsoft’s ‘Listening System’

The pandemic created a profound logistical hurdle for Microsoft – given the fact that they have over 100,000 employees across more than 100 countries across the globe.  

Due to the high level of uncertainty, Microsoft took a flexible approach regarding employees’ return to the office.  

And at its foundation was the company’s ‘listening system’, which consisted of regular employee surveys and polls. This was designed to gather feedback around hybrid working.  

This paved the way for resilience because employees had the freedom to navigate uncharted territory in a working environment where they felt most comfortable.  

Overcoming common barriers to resilience

Building resilience in the workplace will undoubtedly come with its challenges. We’ve outlined two common barriers, as well as an actionable solution that can be taken.  

The stigma around stress and mental health

Research from Rethink Mental Illness reported that 88% of people with mental health issues report facing some form of discrimination in the workplace, such as being overlooked for promotions.  

This reveals something pretty telling.  

Attitudes around stress and employee mental health are still quite poor, and there is a substantial stigma attached to it.  

In this environment, efforts to develop resilience in the workplace falter, because employees risk falling into the trap of burnout, as we mentioned earlier.  

Furthermore, getting high-level buy in on mental health initiatives remains to be a struggle.

Whilst Covid was a catalyst for mental health becoming a common pillar in HR strategies, there is still great room for improvement.  

Employers have started to see mental health as a benefit, like a pension pot or a gym membership. Consequently, this creates the wrong foundation for building a culture of organisational resilience.  

Here’s an actionable step to take: weave mental health into the fabric of the company, versus a separate pillar budgeted to HR. And in parallel to resilience, ask your team questions like ‘what is motivating you?’ or ‘what gives you energy in work and life?’.  

Discussions like this create room for resilience to be routine and habitual.  

At the same time, your organisation is showing up to break down the barrier around the stigma of mental health.  

Interested in more insights? Tune into this episode of Moving Forward with Founder of OpenUp Gijs Coppens; he shared his take on the state of mental health in the workplace.  

Resistance to change

‘Will investing in resilience in the workplace really make a difference?’  

This is a common question that many L&D and HR managers like yourself probably face. And it’s because it always comes back to that wider picture of the bottom line.  

For instance, how the time and effort into developing employee and workforce resilience will create a strong positive impact on the business.  

Here’s an actionable step to take: link the programme to KPIs that your organisation will care about, such as:

• Retention

• Absenteeism  

• Turnover  

• Productivity or output  

After all, the numbers don’t lie!

Conclusion: Building a culture of resilience  

We’ve covered a lot of groundwork regarding resilience in the workplace, so here are the key takeaways:  

• Resilience is a learnable skill and a collective advantage; it empowers employees and workplaces to face challenges in a healthy way.

• Here’s a recap of the practical strategies that can be taken:

• Leverage frameworks such as The Perma Model or the 7Cs  

• Work on a scalable training programme that helps in guiding the journey towards employee’s resilience Embrace the growth mindset

• Embrace the growth mindset and make it part of the fabric of how you and your teams operate.  

• Prioritise mental health, wellbeing, and stress management.  

• Create a culture of psychological safety.  

Curious to find out more? Explore GoodHabitz’s approach towards resilience training.