6 ways to build your resilience at work

The World Heath Organisation has described stress as the “global health epidemic of the 21st century”, and Australia is not immune. 

A 2023 study found that 81 per cent of the Australian workforce struggle with stress and burn-out — surpassing the global figure of 73 per cent —due to the increasing pace and intensity of work. 

One of the most effective strategies for avoiding stress and burnout is to build your resilience, otherwise known as your “ability to bounce back”, says Derrick McManus, who delivers our ‘Building Resilience and Sustained Optimal Performance’ short course. 

Thankfully, resilience is a skill you can learn and reap the benefits from in both your personal and professional life. Get started by adopting the six strategies below.

1. Prioritise self-care

Self-care often falls to the bottom of the priority list when working in a demanding environment. 

But during periods of high-stress, self-care is one of the smartest investments you can make. Not only does prioritising self-care boost your resilience, resourcefulness and productivity; it can also help you handle workplace pressures.

Self-care in the workplace takes many shapes. For some people, it’s all about setting clear boundaries like not taking on additional projects or working long hours. For others, it’s learning how to delegate tasks, and prioritise workload. 

When you pair these strategies with a good night’s sleep, gym session, balanced diet and spending quality time with loved ones, you’ll be far more able to reset and reframe in the face of adversity at work.

2. Practice mindfulness

It’s scientifically proven that practicing mindfulness is one of the most powerful ways you can build your resilience at work.
 
How? Well, social psychologists found that mindfulness supports judgment accuracy and insight-related problem solving; cognitive neuroscientists found that mindfulness enhances cognitive flexibility; and preventive medicine researchers found that online mindfulness programs have been shown to be practical and effective in decreasing employee stress, while improving resiliency and work engagement.

To start practicing mindfulness, try an app like Smiling Mind, Headspace, or Calm. 

3. Take detachment, or ‘micro’ breaks

If you regularly swivel around to talk to your desk buddy or check your phone, there’s no need to feel guilty! It’s possible that these ‘micro’ breaks are increasing your productivity and resilience in the long-term. 

That’s because as humans, our mental focus, clarity and energy cycles are around 90-120 minutes long, so stepping away from your work just for few minutes can help to promote greater energy, mental clarity, creativity and focus, ultimately growing our capacity for resilience throughout the workday.

4. Compartmentalise your day

Compartmentalisation helps to manage our cognitive load – which can be very high in stressful workplaces – by separating different tasks or responsibilities. For example, emailing, strategy or brainstorming sessions, and meetings. 

Allocating dedicated times in your day to undertake specific work-related activities and not others (just as you would for a gym class, for example), creates the optimal set of conditions for you to effectively process information and make quality decisions, while decreasing cognitive load and strain.

5. Be compassionate

According to the Harvard Business Review, one of the most overlooked aspects of the resilience skill set is the ability to cultivate compassion — both for yourself, and others. 

In fact, there is growing evidence to suggest that using compassion-based skills in the workplace has positive effects on stress reduction, enhanced mental wellbeing, and emotional resilience.

For example, research cited by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley shows compassion increases positive emotions, creates positive work relationships, and increases cooperation and collaboration.

6. Attend courses or programs

Just like an athlete trains to build physical strength, you can learn and build your resilience over time. If you’d like to build upon some of the ideas above, attending our upcoming ‘Building Resilience and Sustained Optimal Performance’ short course is a fantastic way to further develop your resilience toolkit. 

Delivered by former STAR Group Officer, Derrick McManus, the course is being held on Monday, 23 September 2024. Register here.