In our fast-paced working world, stress and pressure are omnipresent. But not everyone lets this throw them off track. What makes these people so resilient? It's their resilience - a skill that can be learnt and strengthened. In this article, you will find out exactly what resilience means, why it is essential in the workplace and how you can develop your own resilience.

What is resilience?

Resilience refers to psychological resistance - the essential ability to overcome crises and emerge stronger from them. This ability is particularly important in the workplace, where challenges and changes are the order of the day.

Contrary to what is often assumed, resilience is not an innate characteristic, but can be developed in a targeted manner. Research, including that by Salvatore Maddi and Deborah Khoshaba, shows that particularly resilient employees are better able to work effectively under pressure and continue to develop under difficult conditions. These findings emphasise the need to promote resilience in a targeted manner.

Causes of stress in the workplace and its consequences

Stress in the workplace is an omnipresent phenomenon in the modern working world, triggered by a wide variety of factors. One common trigger can be unclear work instructions. If employees do not know exactly what is expected of them, this can lead to uncertainty and increased stress. High time pressure, in which deadlines must be constantly met in many professions, then increases the pressure and can further impair the quality of work.

Interpersonal conflicts, whether with colleagues or superiors, also contribute significantly to work-related stress. These conflicts can worsen the working atmosphere and significantly affect the job satisfaction of individual team members. Uncertainty about the future of work, particularly in times of economic uncertainty or the threat of job loss, is another significant source of stress.

Chronic stress can manifest itself in the following symptoms:

• Fatigue: constant exhaustion that impairs general performance.
• Depression: A prolonged period of low mood that affects both work and personal life.
• Difficulty concentrating: Problems concentrating, which can lead to errors at work.
• Other health problems: headaches, sleep disorders, cardiovascular diseases.

To avoid these problems, it is important that organisations take effective measures to protect the mental health of employees. This can be done through stress management training, improving communication channels in the workplace and creating a supportive working environment. This can not only promote individual health, but also increase employee productivity and retention.

The 7 most important resilience factors:

In order to counter all these stress-inducing factors in the workplace, it is essential to look at strategies for strengthening mental resilience, known as resilience. To this end, we have selected seven key resilience factors that can help you to overcome challenges more effectively and thus succeed in both physically and mentally draining situations in both your professional and personal life:

1. Self-efficacy expectation: The belief in one's own abilities to successfully master even difficult tasks.
2. Emotional self-regulation: The ability to consciously control and regulate one's own feelings and reactions.
3. Acceptance of the unchangeable: The ability to recognise what cannot be changed and to focus instead on aspects that can be influenced.
4. Concentrating on the tasks at hand: Focussing on the here and now and actively tackling problems in order to make progress.
5. Problem-solving orientation: The endeavour to look for solutions instead of reasons or culprits when difficulties arise.
6. Tolerance for uncertainty: Accepting that not everything is predictable or controllable.
7. Relationship skills: The ability to build and maintain supportive relationships in both private and professional environments.

Increasing workplace resilience

Taking these seven key factors of resilience into account, the question may now arise as to what specific effects they have on the workplace? Quite a few! Employees who have a high level of resilience are generally much more resistant to stress. They are less susceptible to burnout and other exhaustion-related illnesses and generally show increased overall satisfaction and willingness to perform.

Resilience as an investment in the workforce

Companies that invest in promoting resilience among their employees can therefore reap considerable benefits. A strong, healthy workforce is not only more productive, but also contributes to a more positive working environment. Companies can implement the following measures to support their employees in developing and maintaining increased resilience.

Strategies for building resilience:

1. Mindfulness and meditation: Meditation is key! The regular practical application of meditation and mindfulness exercises can help to reduce stress and improve emotional responsiveness. By learning to stay in the moment and manage their reactions, employees can increase their resilience in everyday working life. And the best part? In Germany, some health insurance companies support health promotion measures in companies under certain conditions, including meditation courses! Such courses can be subsidised as part of company health management. Many health insurance companies see the support of such measures as part of their prevention strategy to improve the health and well-being of employees.
2. Training programmes and workshops: Through programmes specifically designed to promote resilience, employees gain valuable tools and techniques that help them to overcome challenges more effectively. The following information is exciting for companies: The The Federal Employment Agency offers various funding opportunities for further education and training courses aimed at improving resilience and other professional skills.
3. Mentoring and coaching: Exchanging ideas with experienced colleagues and targeted support through coaching can provide enormous support in developing resilience in a professional context and maintaining it in the long term. Learning from those who have maintained their resilience through challenging times is an excellent method for gaining new perspectives and developing your own solution strategies. It can also positively influence and further strengthen the team structure - keyword Benjamin Franklin effect.