In a discussion about mental health and how to care for our own and other people’s, what do we mean by resilience? Well, it is not about ‘putting up and shutting up’ or maintaining a stiff upper lip. Instead, we are talking about flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to cope with troubles – qualities that so many of us had to dig deep to find in ourselves during the pandemic.
It is important to recognise that resilience is a mindset we can develop. But some people seem to have a head start in that respect, and it is useful to look at the characteristics that help them deal with difficulties and bounce back. I call them the four Cs.
Community extends into the heart of working life. In 2021 I co-authored a paper with Business in the Community that explored the idea of how your job can be good for you, in which we found (among many other things) that a ‘good’ workplace allows people to play to their strengths and work together to co-create things. When people can ‘bring their whole selves’ to work, they tend to be happier and more resilient in the face of adversity.
These attitudes make an enormous difference to people’s capacity to cope with stress and anxiety, whether it is rooted in personal, work-related, or global concerns. But they are not exclusive to particular types of persons – they can be learnt and cultivated by anyone, and the aim of our online mental health awareness course is to give managers and their workforces the tools they need to do just that.
The first module in our digital workplace mental health training course not only explores what mental wellbeing looks like, but also provides a range of practical techniques to help protect against stress by building personal resilience, small steps at a time.
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