In today’s business world, CEOs, managers, professionals and staff are under great stress to deliver more in less time with fewer resources. They face conflicting demands, long working hours and constant change in an unforgiving business environment that keeps getting tougher, busier and faster. So, what’s the solution?
In pressure-filled jobs, people can choose to cope well or react like victims. Your perception of what is happening depends on your competence and consciously owning your reaction. When struggling with extreme pressures and disruptive changes in the workplace, your attitudes and habits create either barriers or bridges to a better future.
The workplace today may seem bewildering and disorienting to many workers who were trained by their parents and teachers to act, dress, talk, feel and think as told. The old way of raising children conditioned them to be obedient employees in large organisations that changed very slowly. In the past, the more desirable employee was like an obedient child who did as he or she was told. Now, however, the desirable employee is self-motivated, resilient, has an attitude of professionalism and can work without a job description. Employers want people who are constantly learning, adapt quickly, work well with others and find ways to be successful in new and uncertain situations.
Research conducted by psychologist Mary Steinhardt at the Motorola Corporation found that employees who perceived their jobs as full of stress were the least resilient employees. Employees who use problem-focused coping in their constantly changing work environment were the most resilient.
The Motorola research confirms what psychologist Richard Lazarus and others have been finding for over 40 years. People who become emotionally upset about difficulties, blame others for their feelings and dwell on their unhappy feelings are the least resilient and have more illnesses.
The solution is to resist the temptation to believe all the hype about workplace stress that can make you feel like a helpless victim who believes that relief from the ‘stress’ you experience is the responsibility of your employer. By understanding how to be highly resilient, you can be far more successful. Resiliency gives you a competitive advantage while sustaining your health and happiness.