9 Ways to Boost Your Resilience at Work

Dr. Ankit Sharma, PhD

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Why is Resilience Important at Work

According to some research, a quarter of all employees view their jobs as the number one source of stress in their lives. The World Health Organization depicts stress as the “global health epidemic of the 21st century.” Many of us now work in continually connected, always-on, highly demanding work cultures where stress & the risk of burnout are prevalent. Since the pace & force of modern work culture are not likely to change, building resilience skills to efficiently navigate your work-life is more significant than ever. In today’s article, we will discuss some Ways to Boost Your Resilience at Work.

Ways to Boost Your Resilience at Work

Why is Resilience Important at Work

1. Exercise Mindfulness

People in the business world are gradually turning their attention to mental training practices connected with mindfulness & for a good reason. Many social psychologists have found that mindfulness forecasts judgment accuracy & insight-related problem-solving, & some cognitive neuroscientists found that mindfulness improves cognitive flexibility.

In dynamic work environments, some organizational psychologists found that mindfulness aids job performance, even after accounting for all three dimensions of work engagement energy, dedication & incorporation.

Some researchers have found that online mindfulness programs have been proven to be fruitful & effective in decreasing employee stress levels while improving resiliency & work engagement, thus improving overall employee well-being & organizational performance.

2. Classify Your Cognitive Load

We receive about 11 million bits of information every second, but the executive thinking centres of our brain can efficiently process only 40 bits of information. One sensible way to think about this is that though we can’t reduce the amount of information we receive, we can classify our cognitive tasks to optimize how we manage that information. Be intentional about classifying different activities like emailing, strategy-making or brainstorming sessions, & business meetings.

Classifying work is helpful when you consider that switching from one type of work to another makes it difficult to minimize distractions & reduces productivity by around 40%, according to current research published by the American Psychological Association, “to the extent that it is possible, stay away from context switching.

Create allocated times in the day to do particular work-related activities & not others. Like the way, you may create a dedicated time for physical exercise. This approach may be excessively restricted for some. Still, it creates the best set of conditions for us to efficiently process information & make quality decisions while reducing cognitive load & stress.

3. Maintain Perspective

Sometimes at work, we experience highs & lows & that’s entirely normal. Justifiably, it is hard to maintain a positive mindset in adverse situations. However, we can modify a negative mindset by adopting a growth mindset. This mindset encourages us to take on challenges, which we can learn from & improve ourselves.

By concentrating on solutions, we can organize our negative thoughts to endorse an environment where mistakes are welcomed & pressure is viewed as a motivator. This is one of the best Ways to Boost Your Resilience at Work.

4. Be Genuine

 By being genuine, you are being true to the values & beliefs you hold in high regard. These could be traits like honesty, integrity, dependability & loyalty. An exciting study has proven that finding equivalence between these values, beliefs & actions can help to increase emotional intelligence. Meaning when you experience emotionally complicated situations, you are more prone to be able to cope with them.

5. Take Objectivity Breaks

Throughout the workday, it is significant to pay attention to the ups & downs of energy & productivity that we all experience. Mental focus, clarity & energy cycles are usually 90-120 minutes long, so it is helpful to step away from our work for even a few minutes to restore energy & attention.

Research suggests that balancing work activity with even a short time for detaching from those activities can produce greater energy, mental clarity, creativity & focus, eventually growing our capability for resilience throughout the workday. The long-term payoff is that we can conserve energy & avoid burnout over days, weeks & months.

6. Find Your Motivation

When you do work that matters & you love, essential motivation & satisfaction both improve. Recent research from the Harvard Business School clarifies this by highlighting how workers who feel like they are having a direct effect on the performance outcomes of the business report feelings of increased capability & self-determination in what they are doing.

7. Develop Mental Quickness

It is possible to exactly switch the neural networks with which we process the experience of stress to respond to rather than react to any complicated situation or person. This quality of mental quickness pivots on the capacity to mentally “decenter” stress factors to effectively manage them.

“Decentering” is not rejecting or holding back that we feel stressed sometimes. Instead, it is the procedure of being able to pause, observe the experience from a neutral standpoint, & then try to manage the problem.

When we can analytically take a step back from our experience. Our thoughts & emotions are efficiently pivoting attention from the narrative network in our brains to the more observational parts of our brains. Being mentally quick, & decentering stress when it occurs allows the core resilience skill of “response flexibility, which is the ability to pause, step back, think, shift perspectives, create options & choose wisely.

8. Work With Colleagues

Invite advice from your colleagues. A significant advantage of having a selection of different colleagues is that they will all have their unique qualities & areas of expertise. Not only can these individuals offer you support & advice, but also significant performance feedback that brings new learning opportunities & improvement. 

This social working environment can also create a sense of togetherness & strength that couldn’t be found in autonomous workers. A study has also proved that companies like Google, which encourage workforce variety, achieve more because of their principle of innovation & change.

9. Build Networks

The team around you is a massive asset you need to make the most of. There is an old saying that narrates ‘you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with’. By being surrounded by people who motivate, inspire & challenge you, you can build a network of people who push you towards the place you want to be.

Why is Resilience Important at Work

Resilience is the key that inspires us to develop a positive approach to life. Making it possible for us to stay motivated in times of hardship & solve problems in the workplace. Therefore, with a resilient mindset, you feel the day-to-day tasks at the workplace are more amicable.

There are many Ways to Boost Your Resilience at Work. Resilience is strength, & you must have it to achieve your career goals. If you have it, you will be able to:

  • Stay motivated even in times of crisis.
  • Get the strength to deal with challenges.
  • Get protected from burnout.
  • Have better mental & physical health.
  • Create better relationships among workers & superiors.
  • Always be ready to offer & receive help
  • Enjoy improved communication.

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