“The company needs to take more care of its employees”, "More needs to be done to ensure that employees are doing well", "We're not doing well, the company needs to do more for us". I hear these or similar statements more and more often. The suggestions that are then shared in the subsequent discussions range from mindfulness courses to resilience training, psychological safety to coaching and counseling services.
We used to offer a weekly mindfulness course. Most of the time, a maximum of five of us took part. However, those who requested it never showed up. The time probably didn't suit them. Or they imagined something else. We have developed resilience training courses for some customers. These were mostly voluntary and offered during working hours. The best feedback came always fro the ones who were already practicing mindfulness and resilience in their private lives. Coaching and counseling are also often offered. Not infrequently, the sessions have led to resignations. In these cases, these measures have had the very unrealistic goal of curing an already very weak immune system.
Are companies responsible for ensuring that people stay or become resilient?
Companies are responsible for setting up sustainable structures, processes, tools and for planning their resources in a healthy and strength-oriented way. It is the responsibility of a company to have an ambitious vision and to set comprehensible, measurable goals that must be achieved. A company must communicate clearly and transparently which strategy is preferred in order to achieve these goals. A company must empower employees to understand these goals and to be able to achieve them. When this strategic framework is set, people automatically activate their resources* at work. Here are a few reasons why:
we understand exactly where the journey is taking us, we have a vision that guides us as the North Star (activation of the resource of meaning and purpose)
we know exactly which goals need to be achieved on the way there (activating the resource of future and solution orientation)
we can rely on clear structures and processes that enable not only good but also fair procedures (activating the resource of certainty)
we know how we can achieve added value for success with our know-how (activation of the resource of self-efficacy)
we are deployed according to our skills and can therefore enrich the team (activation of the social network resource)
we know that the company communicates transparently and this gives us a feeling of certainty and confidence (activation of the resource of trust)
Simple, but certainly not easy. It takes courage, visionary and at the same time structured thinking to take these cornerstones into account. External factors or negative economic trends often thwart the best intentions.
However, experience shows that the companies that think in a resource-oriented and strategic way are the ones that have motivated, ambitious and committed employees. And when employees are motivated, ambitious and committed, they are usually also resilient. And then mindfulness courses, resilience training and coaching sessions become efficient boosters that further strengthen a healthy immune system.
[* Positive psychology and resilience research identify 7 to 8 factors that, when activated, strengthen human resources to boost resilience. These are: Optimism, (basic) trust, solution and future orientation, self-efficacy, social network, acceptance, emotion regulation].
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