Work?

Most of us spend much of our lives at work. If our lives are to be enjoyable, we should be able to connect and communicate in a positive way with the people that we spend so much of our time with. They should be part of a network of people that we can count on when things are difficult. They should be a source of support, not of adversity. Unfortunately, for many of us the face of adversity may be that of our supervisor or a co-worker. A recent survey by the American Psychological Association Center for Organizational Excellence found that one-third of American workers experience chronic work stress, with low salaries, lack of opportunity for advancement, and heavy workloads topping the list. The good news is, as Dr. David Ballard, head of the APA Center for Organizational Excellence, points out, “When employers acknowledge that employees have responsibilities and lives outside of work, the employer can take steps to promote a good work-life fit and help individuals better manage these multiple demands. Forward-thinking organizations are reevaluating work practices, providing employees with resources that support well-being and performance and applying new technology that helps shift work from somewhere we go from 9 to 5 to something we do that is meaningful and creates value.” The skills and attitudes of resilience can help employers and employees make this shift. Psychologically healthy organizations encourage employees to be involved and to grow and develop. Some of the growth that needs to be encouraged is the ability of employees to adapt to changes in the organization. Change is a reality for most organizations. Adapting to the reality requires that both employees and organizations be flexible and make a joint effort to problem solve. Effective communication is critical. Individuals and organizations need to learn to try in a different way to solve problems, not just try harder in the same way. Such rigidity creates, at best, frustration and at worst, failure. Adapting to the work environments of the 21st Century requires that we accept change as a given. Permanence is not to be expected. Most things are temporary. But the changes that do occur often will not have a pervasive impact on our lives or our organization. Good or bad, they will not change everything. The impact will usually be specific. Blaming ourselves or others for the problems that we or the organization is confronting is not going to help. The individual employee needs to be accountable for his actions, as do the supervisors and administrators of the organization. Engaging in the blame game is a waste of time. Back-biting or gossiping certainly does not make for a better work environment. When we can connect with our co-workers in a positive way, we can be more effective communicators, and the work environment can often be less stressful. Again, this requires flexibility on our part and an optimistic attitude. Again, this involves accepting that most things are temporary, events in our lives, either positive or negative, are seldom pervasive in their impact and engaging in the blame game is not going to help. In the next post, I will discuss how some of the other skills and attitudes of resilience can be applied at work. Ron Breazeale