Workplace examples of resilience skills in practice

In the workplace, as in life, utilising resilience skills can help improve our approach to change, our attitude to setbacks and our ability to recover from challenges. Teams who build their resilience together can experience a boost to both the quality of their relationships and their overall efficiency.

3 workplace examples of resilience skills in practice

Example 1 - Managing change
Last year, Katy’s team moved to a 4-day week whilst retaining their number of working hours. Although everyone was happy when the change was agreed and excited about the positive effect for their lifestyles, Katy realised she was used to everyone being contactable throughout the working week. She worried the new schedule might delay responses to her queries.

By adopting a growth mindset and using the resilience skills of realistic optimism, reaching out and problem solving, Katy finds that in practice she has adjusted well to the change. Refining her communication methods, setting clearer expectations and improving her personal organisation, have also resulted in her becoming more efficient.

Example 2 - Overcoming a setback
A new project announced at work was looking to second a staff member for six months to lead it. Tom felt he could tick all the boxes on the job description and was excited that it would be the perfect opportunity to gain valuable experience in this promoted role. He applied and was invited to interview. Tom was subsequently advised he had not been the successful candidate.

Following initial feelings of disappointment, Tom realised that there was no point in dwelling negatively on this rejection and allow feelings of self-doubt to take over. He applied the resilience skills of impulse control and emotional awareness to move forward constructively. He sought feedback on his performance at interview and spotted areas he could focus on and improve to ensure he would be even better prepared when any future opportunity was announced.

Example 3 - Recovering from a challenge
Having recently taken up a manager's role with a new organisation, Lee quickly established that the morale and energy of their team was low. Requests for ideas, input or help with understanding how processes worked were met with silence, excuses or reluctance. Remembering resilience training from a previous role, Lee recognised the need for building psychological safety and a solution-focused mindset to rebuild engagement.

Lee took proactive steps; encouraged the team to take regular breaks to protect their energy, planned a team building event, and initiated one-to-one meetings to support open conversations. By celebrating small wins, shifting the focus to what was in their control, and creating an environment where all feel seen and heard, Lee successfully built a more cohesive and motivated team.

Workplace training to help build resilience skills

Those who attend a resilience training course see for themselves how important resilience is in helping respond to the pressures and demands of working life today. They also learn how resilience skills can be used to help them identify opportunities to thrive.

Our range of resilience training courses include those for leaders, managers, teams, as well as for individuals at any level in a workforce.