How to Build Resilience at Work and Home

Health & Wellness

How to Build Resilience at Work and Home

3 min read Jan 11, 2021

When we look back on the year 2020, many changes come to mind: Changes in our family routines; changes in our social interactions; and changes in how we work, to name a few.

The question is: How are we handling this onslaught of change, especially in the workplace?

In 2020, research firm, Gartner, Inc., found that the amount of change the average employee could withstand without encountering "change fatigue" had been cut in half, compared to 2019. (And change fatigue means exactly what you think: Being tired of change.)

The good news is there's a healthy way to respond to change fatigue—by building resilience. Let’s explore how we can do that.

How we think about resilience

Experts describe resilience as the positive adaptation to adversity. In layman's terms, it's the ability to bounce back from challenging, stressful situations. Due to COVID-19, these stressors might have included a sudden shift to remote work or the need to juggle multiple responsibilities, such as caring for a loved one, while also handling your job.

While your ability to adjust to—and recover from—these circumstances is a marker of your resilience, being resilient doesn’t mean you won’t ever feel frazzled or emotionally exhausted. Resilient people still struggle, but they also move forward, typically with more ease than others. But resilience isn't static—it can change according to your circumstances, experts say. You've probably had to flex your resiliency muscles more than ever the past year. And you're likely stronger because of it.

Why does resilience matter at work?

MetLife’s study, “Mental Health: A Path to A Path to a Resilient Workforce and Business Recovery,” found some fascinating statistics on resilience at work and the effect it has on mental health. When compared to the least resilient employees, the most resilient employees are:

73% Most Resilient More likely to be holistically well
24% Least Resilient More likely to be holistically well
12% Most Resilient Less likely to be burned out
55% Least Resilient Less likely to be burned out
14% Most Resilient Less likely to be stressed
55% Least Resilient Less likely to be stressed
6% Most Resilient Less likely to be depressed
31% Least Resilient Less likely to be depressed
89% Most Resilient Have overall better mental health
47% Least Resilient Have overall better mental health
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Nothing in these materials is intended to be advice for a particular situation or individual. These materials are for general information purposes only.