Resilience in the Workplace

National Human Resources Development Network (NHRDN)  organized a series of online webinars from 5th to 10th October 2020  under their Mind Matters Program in connection with the World mental health day. I had attended the session on the 8th and the valedictory session on 10th October. I shared the gist of the proceedings on the 8th in my blog post featuring the experience sharing by Ms Mellener Anne Coelho, VP and India Head for Diversity, equity and inclusion North Trust India. ( https://hrdian.blogspot.com/2021/02/personal-story-of-resilience-and.html ) 

In the last post we discussed as to why it is all the more important to  give focus and thrust to mental health issues in India - Our awareness levels about mental health is low and there is a stigma attached to matters related to mental health. In this blog, we will discuss the gist of a panel discussion organized on 10th October 2020. Prof Sujata Sriram of Tata Institute of Social Sciences  was the moderator  and panel members  were  Dr Soumya Krishna, Consultant psychiatrist, Green oak initiative, Dr Chetana Duggal Asst Prof TISS and Ms Hvovi Bhagwagar, Psychologist & psychotherapist.

The following matters were discussed during the interaction by the panel members. 

What constitutes resilience?   

*  Resilience is the ability to spring back from an adversity. Nobody is born with it; it is developed over a period of time.

*  Resilience is not an absolute ability. One can be resilient in one situation but not in another. Sometimes, the same situation occuring on a later date may not be met by a person with resilience. 

* Reframing can help to handle an adverse situation. It involves reprocessing but does not necessarily mean a person has forgotten the adverse experience. It is about looking at it differently so that it does not impact you negatively. 

* Resilience involves the requirement to be adaptive and varies from person to person. When natural disasters like an earth quake happens, the ability of the people to spring back to normalcy is not the same. While  most people come back to their old selves and also learn, grow from that experience, there are some who have difficulty in coping with life in the future and need help. 

Role of culture in resilience     

* Some cultures teach you to be resilient by giving the message very early in life that "You have to be strong" 

* This strength also comes from the support and access to resources, sense of identity etc. As for example a supportive comment "What happened at school today?" will give the signal  to a child that he matters and helps him to feel strong and protected. 

* Issues such as gender can impact the resilient process negatively if it is felt that the resources are not fairly distributed. 

* India, basically as nation has enjoyed community support which has helped her to be a resilient nation. However, there has been some erosion in this regard particularly in urban areas. This needs to be revived from the level of the roots for building workplace resilience. Steps are to be taken to build community support.  

Way Forward     

* Mental issues of our team members which are below the surface may come out during the times of stress or adverse conditions like the Corona crisis. Here, what is important is the way we react. We should be supportive and encourage people to speak up whether at  work or at home. A negative reaction can add to the problem.

* It is important to listen with an open mind.The mental health champions should not behave as if they know everything and have all the answers. The mere act of listening helps.

* If people are upset, give them the opportunity to vent, let their steam out for some time. 

* The necessary environment has to be created for people to feel safe. It is only when they feel safe that they will open up and reach out to you. This has to be done by all concerned namely the parents, spouses. manager and organization  working as a team to co regulate and soothe the problem encountered by the employee.

What can Managers Do?   

*  Organizations have begun to understand the importance of taking care of the mental well being of their employees. This itself is a step in the right direction

* Managers can be trained with definite and clear inputs on how to talk to a person having a mental issue.

* Certification programs of a mandatory 1 or 2 days can be implemented.

* Accessibility to mental health care within the organization- A mental health department can be started headed by a psychologist. 

* Every person in the organization needs to be sensitized. People should be trained and prepared to use less threatening language in conversations. Have refresher courses for managers once in a year and make it mandatory by integrating it to the performance appraisals. 

* The details of the organization's mental health policy should be available in its website spelling out the various facilities / steps available for sustaining mental health. 

* A thorough system be developed for the company that encompasses the policy & its relevance to the outcomes of the organization, day to day practices, response machinery in the form of wellness conversations, platform for dialoguing and the specialized services provided ( mental health department).

* The language that is used in respect of a person in distress is very important, all the more the language of  leaders.  

* The way you look at and approach an employee would be different if you believed in the statement    "A difficult employee is one with distress."  The focus would then be "how can I get you back? You have been a good performer before". 

* Be patient. People may take time to trust you. As it is they may be in a mental state where things appear dark and negative.

* Be as inclusive as possible. Do not exclude them from departmental or other social meetings connected with the department. 

*Do not penalize an employee who has revealed his/her mental issue.Their appraisals or promotion should not be adversely affected because of it. Do not look at them as "People who cannot handle things." Organizations have to take responsibility for safeguarding their rights on par with other employees. 

* It is on account of stigma attached to mental illness that some employees do not accept or utilize assistance or benefit extended to them. As for example, a psychologist was arranged by a company to talk with employees with suicidal tendencies on a one on one basis. However, none of the employees availed of that service.   Employee assistance programs (EAP) should examine ways to energize the programs. (EAP is an employee benefit program that assists employees with personal problems and/or work related problems that may impact their job performance, health, mental, and emotional well being). 

* Encourage and let the subject of mental health come into routine conversation in a natural and matter of fact manner. 

Developing resilience in children post Covid 

  * Children are confused with the nature of life post Covid with each child having to figure out for himself/herself as to how to handle the changes. Open up conversations with them and provide them supportive space and motivation.

* When they go back to work after being on lock down, employees are not expected to be supermen. They are given the time and space to pick up and show graded improvement. The same goes for children. Don't put undue pressure on them simply because they are now operating from home. 

* Physical distancing etc is difficult to implement among children. Therefore, the resumption of schools should start initially only for students of higher classes. It is another matter that in terms of restlessness, the adolescents are the most difficult to handle at this time 

* Finally, the panel advised to be kind to everyone including yourself in these pandemic times which can be very challenging.  

This discussion was a fitting finale to the week long webinar focusing on mental health  as a part of  observing the World Mental Health day. The moderator and the panel of experts gave some very insightful tips that can be implemented profitably by employers for ensuring the mental health and well being of their employees.