The importance of resilience not stress
The drive for enhanced productivity and sustainable growth is a mantra of the post 2008 recovery era, but the drumbeat for better business performance also feeds workplace stress. In the vibrant world of PR consultancy, stress can be easily dismissed as an occupational hazard that is easily sorted by an exodus to the bar on any given Friday.
The best PR people are often the most sensitive, and in turn the most vulnerable to pressure. It’s this stress that typically drives higher levels of creativity and stretches PR teams to always deliver for clients and their company.
There are hundreds of studies examining the relationship between stress and workplace performance, and the findings show that protracted periods of stress are often associated with self-doubt, worry and rumination that can undermine or derail the most capable and competent performers.
But stress the enemy is also the friend that binds teams together, circling the wagons that create long-lasting comradeship and reinforce culture. A common characteristic of good PR people is the hunger for pressure, or ‘stretch’, to fulfil potential. It is entirely normal to experience higher levels of stress at certain times and the reality is that most of us will get ‘stressed’, especially when we experience periods of uncertainty, setbacks, or protracted periods of pressure. But the best PR consultants are also the ones who understand the importance of resilience and psychological well-being.
Good psychological health and a positive mindset help to boost confidence, increase self-belief and unlock an individual’s potential. Analysis of over 225 academic studies found employees with positive psychological wellbeing have on average 31 per cent higher productivity; their sales are 37 per cent higher and their creativity is three times higher. Psychological wellbeing is also highly predictive of long-term physical health, so it’s hugely beneficial to focus on building resilience within teams and their culture.
The past few years have seen the introduction of different approaches to resilience training for some enlightened organisations in the UK. From simple recognition approaches where managers give meaningful thanks to their employees for their contribution to the company’s success, to more formal cognitive behavioural training (CBT) and positive psychology, there are a number of ways in which employees can be helped to think differently and positively about their personal situation and the role they play in their organisation.
Resilience training may require a rethink of performance management and aspects of leadership that tend to focus on goals and improvements. Instead, the focus should be on coaching people to help themselves by focusing on the positives, providing authentic support and creating the conditions for collaboration that enable employees to bring their best selves to work.
For so many PR consultants stress is a reality and its evidence is around us, every hour of every day. We owe it to ourselves and our colleagues to focus on building resilience, and whilst the pub may have some of the answers, professional resilience training has a host of useful insights, too.
business, business performance, PR Career, PR Job, productivity, workplace performance