In a world filled with uncertainty, we are all forced to act out resilience in various ways and various settings; at work, at school, with family and community. In the wake of the corona virus, COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the globe building resilience will be instrumental in safeguarding individual mental wellbeing. This will play an important part in an individual, living through the pandemic as well as learning to successfully navigate life when it has been contained. Now more so then ever there is uncertainty within every, and all aspects of life.
Resilience is one of the four factors that make up psychological capital. Psychological capital is a fairly new concept having emerged out of the promulgation of positive organisational behvaiour in the late 1990s focused on human wellbeing. Psychological capital is “one’s appraisal of circumstances and probability for success based on motivational effort and perseverance.” It is the innate motivation an individual possesses and is developmental in nature. Resilience conceptualised within psychological capital is concerned with an individual’s ability to cope and adapt in the face of significant risk or adversity. We are now all being faced with significant risk performing everyday tasks such as going grocery shopping, bumping into someone we may know and going to the doctor. Likewise we are being faced with significant adversity as we attempt to manage ourselves and our environments with remote working and online learning, as well as trying to understand what work will be in the future. P
ositive coping may increase or even grow each time an individual effectively copes with adversity. This is a vitally important characteristic to possess with the uncertain times we are all trying to navigate. There is loss of job security, increased anxiety and stress with the lack of normalcy as well as increased pressure to remain competitive and relevant to the changing workplace. Being able to ‘bounce back’ from this change and uncertainty in the workplace requires positive psychological capital. A strong sense of resilience will assist in reinforcing an individual’s sense of self-efficacy, perseverance and self-esteem. These attributes will be vitally important in successfully navigating the changing workplace, with changing norms demanding resilience and adaptability.
The question now becomes what can an individual do to help develop their sense of resilience. This can be done through various simple exercises that assist in identifying an individual’s coping strategies and developing them.
If you would be interested in any of these exercises please contact us.
‘You are your greatest asset’
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