Many companies have broken their once-rigid hierarchies. Working in agile project structures? The associated dynamics cope well with many employees. Others get stressed and become ill. To prevent this, companies should work on their corporate resilience. But what is it really? What resilience means, and why it matters ?

Resilience at work, why it is important and how to develop it ? How do you build corporate resilience?

Why one employee blossoms under the same dynamic conditions while another becomes ill has been researching resilience research for several years. The term resilience means jumping back and bouncing off. Into the psychology was introduced the term of the American scientist Emmy E. Werner, In her long study, she spent over 40 years watching the development of 698 children on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. One third of them came from difficult circumstances. She registered in the entire age cohort of the 1955 born, that of these 30 percent again showed a third particular resilience to their poor starting conditions. Despite their adversities, they developed into mentally healthy and stable, capable and happy adults. Based on these observations, resilience research has developed approaches to help people with stress conditions cope better. Resilience is not defined today as an innate personality trait, but as the result of an interaction process between a person and his environment. However, psychology also knows today that the development of resilience depends on protective factors that a human being can access and make use of. In children, for example, in addition to parents – or if they fail – caregivers such as teachers or friends who provide social stability and orientation. In addition to education, these must give a child a sense of attachment and security, as well as opening up social shelters in which to develop his personality and gifts. If these caregivers and protective factors are lacking, or if a young person does not use them, he can hardly escape his fate. In children, for example, in addition to parents – or if they fail – caregivers such as teachers or friends who provide social stability and orientation. In addition to education, these must give a child a sense of attachment and security, as well as opening up social shelters in which to develop his personality and gifts. If these caregivers and protective factors are lacking, or if a young person does not use them, he can hardly escape his fate. In children, for example, in addition to parents – or if they fail – caregivers such as teachers or friends who provide social stability and orientation. In addition to education, these must give a child a sense of attachment and security, as well as opening up social shelters in which to develop his personality and gifts. If these caregivers and protective factors are lacking, or if a young person does not use them, he can hardly escape his fate.

Number of Mental illnesses Increases

The teachings of Emmy E. Werner and the work of numerous scientists worldwide, who founded modern resilience research, can also be used well in an entrepreneurial context. The digital transformation, the overload of information, restructuring as a permanent state and cycles of innovation at ever shorter intervals as well as the generally deplored work crowding pose stress conditions for many workers. But in uncertain times disruptive changes cause stress as well as destructive communication; not to mention the “always on” mentality. But board members and management have a responsibility for the mental health of their workforce and should interpret the signals correctly. Because Germany suffers from mental illness, which increased significantly from 2007 to 2017. Since 1997, they have even tripled as DAK Psycho Report reported in July of 2019. Although there has been a slight downward trend since 2018, 2.2 million people were affected. The resulting economic costs have skyrocketed in parallel. They are now at 33.9 billion euros. In addition, the Federal Pension Fund approved more than 170,000 inpatient rehabilitation for mental illnesses in 2018. That was over 50,000 more than ten years earlier. Even assuming that these figures seem negligible given 40 million workers in Germany, employers, managers and managers would not do it justice. Because diseases and disproportionately increased costs are only the visible sign of a development.

Seven Factors of Resilient People

But stress is not always and for every person also the cause of a disease. All people have more or less pronounced resilience factors that enable them to cope with stress. From numerous empirical studies, for example, the US scientists identified Dr. Karen Reivich and Dr. Andrew Shatté of the University of Pennsylvania in 2003 seven factors that characterize a resilienten people. They have

1. Their emotions under control

2.Controlled emotions control their impulses, Both abilities are important above all in permanent change processes in order to be able to cope with the conflict situation that often accompanies them. Then a manager keeps his nerve, if he should delegate responsibility in agile project structures. Those who control their impulses can think clearly, control their actions, plan and act with foresight and achieve their goals. On this basis, a project manager can give just as clear instructions if he / she records.

3.Causal relationships , classifies them in terms of content, and communicates their expectations comprehensibly to his colleagues. Another skill describes

4. The self-efficacy So when a person is committed and self-confident, he tackles challenges he has never had to tackle. This competence is especially important in times of radical upheaval. Here dock the next skill that Reivich and Shatté denote with

5. Realistic optimism . For such personalities, the glass is half full and they are in difficult situations because they always see the positive possibilities and actively pursue them. Especially in companies that often break new ground with their digitization, such employees are a win.

6. Factor, the goal orientation, is vital in times of uncertainty to compensate for the often associated stress. Goal orientation distinguishes personalities who are curious to consistently aim for goals, even if their environment puts them in their way. This entrepreneurial ability is especially necessary in flat hierarchies and agile project structures when responsibility is delegated to teams and they also have to make decisions. Perhaps the most important skill for executives, however, is

7. Empathy, It is a gift to empathize with another person. Empathic leaders can understand the emotional situation of their employees and respond appropriately. A project manager who understands the disappointment of an overburdened employee who has to give up tasks can explain the reasons. He can give tips on how and with which measures a person can improve.

Resilience Competence is Build-able

Of course, hardly any leader can combine all factors equally well in his personality. But the most hopeful insight of current resilience research and practice is that resilience can be learned, but also how the condition can be built up in sports. Because resilience is not a static toolbox of personal characteristics or positive environmental factors, but is considered as a variable and multi-dimensional process that is ideally designed continuously as well as in sports. By providing protection factors such as coaching or training on a regular or on-demand basis, people can strengthen their personal resilience to stress. For companies, this means they should analyze the resilience constellations at management levels, departments and teams. This opens up completely new intervention and training approaches for the development of resilience competences of managers and employees. In a similar way to developmental psychology, to shift the focus from pathogenesis to salutogenesis. This health research approach not only asks what has made someone sick or about to get sick, but, above all, what can keep him healthy. This preventive approach of occupational health management (WHM) therefore seeks to strengthen an employee’s strengths rather than just deficits. The linchpin here is the management – from the board to the C-level. to strengthen the strengths of an employee and not just to work on deficits. The linchpin here is the management – from the board to the C-level. to strengthen the strengths of an employee and not just to work on deficits. The linchpin here is the management – from the board to the C-level.

Corporate Resilience is a Management Task

Because corporate resilience can not be separated from the personal resilience of individual managers. Rather, it is a task that should start with the executives. After all, they have an exemplary function and are sometimes the starting point for burdens. Therefore, they must first of all question their own leadership behavior and explore their own resilience skills – for example along the seven factors of Reivich and Shatté. They should be aware that interaction with employees and their communication behavior has an immediate impact on them. For example, if a project manager sends instructions at midnight or on vacation, he or she creates a real stressful situation in the office at the end of the day and in the office the next day. Such leadership is today undesirable for successful companies. They have to assume their role model role as managers and orient their behavior towards the basic mental health needs of their employees. At the same time, an occupational medical or occupational, organizational and organizational psychological (ABO-Psych) analysis helps identify structural, personal and organizational causes of mental stress in the workforce. Also proven are ABO office hours in which employees can open up to a psychologist subject to confidentiality. Such external psychologists have the advantage of being able to provide a mirror to executives with anonymous reports. This often succeeds To illustrate to a manager his less resilient leadership concept and to help him to work on his behavior. In addition to the ABO psychologists so-called resilience checks have proven themselves. These record daily workloads of individual employees using questionnaires as well as a 48-hour measurement of their vital data with a simple but electronically improved plaster. After evaluation, the participants receive individual advice with recommendations for action on how to deal better with and reduce their personal stress. These record daily workloads of individual employees using questionnaires as well as a 48-hour measurement of their vital data with a simple but electronically improved plaster. After evaluation, the participants receive individual advice with recommendations for action on how to deal better with and reduce their personal stress. These record daily workloads of individual employees using questionnaires as well as a 48-hour measurement of their vital data with a simple but electronically improved plaster. After evaluation, the participants receive individual advice with recommendations for action on how to deal better with and reduce their personal stress.

Combining Corporate and Error Culture with Resilience-building

But corporate resilience can not be arranged. It should be understood as a process. And it is not yet successful immediately, because the board and manager initiated by a resilience check works on itself. Also necessary is an inventory of the mindset of the corporate culture. Companies that want to strengthen their resilience to disruptive long-term change, work more agile in flat hierarchies to respond more quickly to market demands, must also revise their way of dealing with errors. In doing so, they can learn from start-ups that often make their breakthrough only through failed attempts and their will to succeed. Such an error culture ideally leads to a continuous learning process. This requires a mindset of openness, transparent communication and a willingness to recognize causes of error. fix them and share this learning curve in the company too. This not only increases the quality level in the long term, but also the satisfaction of the employees. They experience themselves as self-effective, can constructively solve problems and conflicts, and emerge strengthened from disruptive change processes.

Corporate Resilience As A Corporate Goal

Since corporate resilience is a permanent process, this task belongs to the corporate goals. It should be anchored as a strategic initiative with the necessary resources throughout the company. It is therefore important to develop corporate resilience into a permanent cross-cutting theme. On the one hand, she is regularly on the agenda of any department or team meeting. On the other hand, board members should not send their executives unprepared into a new excessive demand. Therefore, it is important to prepare them – for example through in-house seminars, but also personal counseling services. On this basis, executives decide what resources they need: From ABO psychologists to the resilience check as well as individual coaching or team supervision, the instrument case offers enough scope. And if the costs of resilience measures seem too high, HR managers can play the demographics card in addition to the arguments already mentioned: Because aging society and the shortage of skilled workers with too little talent, especially in the MINT professions, it is crucial older employees longer and to maintain a healthier working life. And staff turnover can also curb a company, as it has been proven to correlate with employee satisfaction. Because in the face of an aging society and a shortage of skilled workers with too few children, especially in the MINT professions, it is crucial to keep older employees longer and healthier in their professional lives. And staff turnover can also curb a company, as it has been proven to correlate with employee satisfaction. Because in the face of an aging society and a shortage of skilled workers with too few children, especially in the MINT professions, it is crucial to keep older employees longer and healthier in their professional lives. And staff turnover can also curb a company, as it has been proven to correlate with employee satisfaction.

Conclusion: Corporate Resilience pays off for Companies & Employees

Why is resilience important in business?

And employee satisfaction increases in parallel with the entrepreneurial resilience.Resilience to change in the workplace is must have trait now in the business. If employees experience their job as meaningful, they feel well in their department and with their colleagues and they find their boss to be balanced, confident, communicative and loyal, they are less ill. A satisfied employee therefore lacks on average only 9.4 days per year. Employees who feel constantly stressed and in which the overall working climate is not right are missing up to 19.6 days per year. In this respect, healthy employees better manage the burdens of digital transformation. The improvement of corporate resilience pays off twice: for economic reasons and for the employees.

Resilience and Agility are two top skills needed in Today’s Workplace.