Work and Resilience

The purpose and value of work.

 In the last post, I pointed out how connecting with others at work, being an effective communicator and being able to assert oneself at the right times at work could make the environment less stressful. I also discussed the importance of flexibility and being able to try in a different way to solve problems. In the work environment of the 21st Century, change is inevitable. But most changes are temporary, not permanent. And they seldom have a pervasive effect, positive or negative, on our lives. Blaming ourselves or others for the problems created by change does not help. I also discussed a recent survey conducted by the American Psychological Association Center for Organizational Excellence. The survey, among other things, pointed out that many employees felt stuck in their present positions. Only 39% said they had sufficient opportunities for internal career advancement and just over half reported feeling valued at work. Only 43% of the employees surveyed said that recognition at work was based on fair and useful performance evaluations. As I discussed in the last blog, the skills and attitudes of resilience can help change these statistics. Your work should have value and purpose. The purpose is hopefully more than just surviving and drawing a paycheck. The work should be meaningful to you. You should feel like what you are doing is important and makes a difference. Making the decision about whether or not your work is meaningful and purposeful involves taking a look at your own values and what is important to you. Your values and the values of the people that you work with and the organizations that you work for should match. If there’s not a match or a fit, the dissonance between the two will cause a level of tension and stress that will wear on us and our organization as time passes. Our mission and the mission of the organization should complement each other. If they do not, then we should be looking for a job that is a better fit. Situations at work inevitably bring up strong feelings. Work should. We should feel some passion for the work that we do, and we should feel frustrated when we cannot express it. The latter is often a problem. We should try not to let frustration and anger build up inside. Anger can be a toxic emotion. We need to find ways to manage our anger that help to change things at work in a positive way. But first of all, we have to recognize the feelings that we have and we need to find ways to be able to discharge them so we can think more clearly about work and how to negotiate the problems that are there. In the next blog, I will talk more about things you can do on your job to make your work environment a more positive one for you and for your co-workers. -Dr. Ron Breazeale