Are your graduates tough enough?
Building resilience and well-being
Professor Ivan Robertson, Nicole Ferguson
Robertson Cooper Ltd
Overview
• What is resilience and why does emotional wellbeing matter?
• Why do graduates need resilience?
• Graduates’ resilience, mental toughness & well-being
during difficult times
• Building emotional resilience and well-being in
graduates
What is resilience?
• Psychologically positive and healthy
Resilience protects psychological
well-being and health
• Behaviourally effective and capable
Resilience helps to retain a focus on what
matters and supports effective behaviour
Resilience – Alias...
• Vitality
• Energy
• Flexibility
• Mental toughness/strength
• Hardiness, etc...
Why does it matter?
More than 40 longitudinal studies in last 10-12 years
Psychological well-being factors (positive feelings,
negative feelings, optimism, depression, anxiety,
smiling(?) ...) predict:
• Earlier death
• General ill health (including heart disease, blood
pressure, immune system functioning, frailty in later
life, cancer(?) ...)
Source: Diener & Chan, 2011
Why psychological well-being matters
Stress
Hypothalamus reacts and releases
biochemicals (specifically CRF)
HPA & Sympathetic Nervous
System activated
Longer term
consequences,
including heart
disease, immune
system disruption
Shorter term physical reactions: increased BP, pulse rate ...
Stomach distress, headache, musculoskeletal pain, sleep disturbances
Why psychological well-being
matters
Why well-being matters
• Cardiovascular risk
Blood pressure
Cholesterol
HR variability
• Weight/Diabetes
Glucose regulation
Protein & fat metabolism
• Immune system
Inflammatory processes
Autoimmune problems
Why does it matter?
But how big are the effects on mortality and health?
• Twice as likely to have died (2,800 people, two year
follow up; 850 people, five year follow up)
• Live 6-10 years longer (healthier and happier)
• Size of effect similar to other well-established risk
factors (e.g. smoking, diet)
Sources: Ostir et al., 2000; Wilson et al., 2003; Diener & Chan, 2011)
Why does it matter?
35
30
25
Positive W/being
scores
20
Moderate
W/Being scores
15
10
Low W/Being
scores
5
0
% Colds
Cohen et al., Psychosomatic Medicine, 2003
Psychological well-being:
The link to performance
Some studies:
• Cropanzano and Wright (1999) Five
• Donald et al., (2005) – almost a
year longitudinal study of
quarter (23%) of variance in
psychological well-being and
employee productivity (sample of
performance. Strong correlation
16,000UK employees) is explained
between well-being and work
by:
performance
- Psychological well-being
• Taris & Schreurs (2009)
Client satisfaction (66 organisations,
- Perceived commitment of
r=.29)
organisation to employee
• Ford et al., (2011)
- Resources and communications
Overall performance (111
organisations, total sample 10,000+,
r=.40)
Why psychological well-being
matters
People higher on psychological well-being
• Show greater flexibility and originality
• Respond better to unfavourable feedback
• Make more positive judgements about others
• Show higher levels of “Engagement”
• Are more productive
• Are likely to live longer … be sick less often … and
have happier work and home life
*Lyubomirsky, King & Diener, 2005
Why do we need resilience?:
(Frequent) travel
• Research* - travellers versus non-travellers:
– General medical claims are higher
– Psychological illness claims are 3 times higher!
– Claims from spouses of travellers are 16% higher (over 30%
higher for psychological problems)
– Young children are negatively affected
• Poor scores on Psychological well-being
with average scores in the worst 20-25% for
Manager/professionals
• Benefits from some trips
Sources: Dimberg et al., 2006, Liese et al., 1997, Espino et al., 2002, Westman & Etzion, 2002
Why do we need resilience? Work
• Working more than 11 hours a day consistently
Likelihood of depression – 250% higher than people
working fewer hours
• Travellers versus non-travellers:
– General medical claims are higher
– Psychological illness claims are 300% times higher
– Claims from spouses of travellers are 16% higher
(over 30% higher for psychological problems)
Sources: Virtanen et al., 2012; NISER, 2012, Dimberg et al., 2006, Liese et al., 1997, Espino
et al., 2002, Westman & Etzion, 2002,
Why do we need resilience?:
N= 20,000, General
working population
Total stress
3.1
3.0
2.9
2.8
2.7
2.6
2.5
24 years or under
25 -34 years
35 - 44 years
45 - 55 years
55 or over
What factors influence psychological
well-being and resilience at work?
Person
Situation
Work
Non-work
i-resilience : Personal resilience
Important workplace factors
• Demands
• Control
• Support
Johnson & Hall, 1988; De Lange et al., 2003; O’Driscoll & Brough, 2010
Workplace factors and well-being
•
•
•
•
•
•
Demands
Control
Relationships
Change
Role
Support
• Demands
• Control
• Support
• Change
• Role
• Reward &
contribution
The ‘6 Essentials of
workplace well-being’ Robertson Cooper
The “6 essential” sources of
pressure
• Resources and communication (Pressure from lack of resources or
information)
• Control and autonomy (Limitations on how the job is done or freedom to
make decisions)
• Balanced workload (Peaks and troughs in workload, difficult deadlines,
unsocial hours, work life balance challenges)
• Job security & change (Pressure from change and uncertainty about the
future)
• Work relationships (High pressure relationships with colleagues,
customers, bosses)
• Job conditions (Pressure from working conditions or pay and benefits)
Work & Well-Being
Exercise: Sources of pressure for graduates
• Which factors do you think your graduates are
currently troubled by?
• Do you think these factors are likely to get better /
worse as over time? If so, why?
• What do you think could realistically be done to keep
these factors positive for graduates and address any
potential issues?
Building & sustaining resilience
• Learning & development
• Effective management, leadership &
organisational processes
• Tracking well-being AND the drivers of wellbeing
• Selection, assessment & talent management
processes
Learning & development: Resilience
training
Better psychological well-being and performance (resilience)
is associated with:
• Positive (optimistic) thinking styles
• Experiencing tough challenges
• Recognising and developing signature strengths
• Using active (Problem-focused) coping strategies – rather than emotionfocused coping
• Retaining a clear sense of purpose
• Cognitive flexibility - control of thoughts and feelings
• Establishing and nurturing a supportive social network
• Looking after your physical condition – exercise may
be the “magic bullet”
Personal resilience
Confidence
Recognise your strengths
Positive attribution
Challenge & mastery
Physical well-being
Purposefulness
Personal moral compass
Achieving your goals
Positive mental time travel
Social Support
Practical tips
and
techniques to
build
resilience
Workplace purpose
Effective networking
Gratitude visits
Capatalising
Empathy vs. sympathy
Adaptability
Resilient thinking
Thinking errors
Mindfulness
Working smarter
Learning & development: Resilience training
• Positive (optimistic) thinking styles
• Experiencing tough challenges - Stretch … but not
Panic zone!
• Recognising and developing signature strengths
• Building mental toughness through tough
experiences (but with suitable respite)
• Physical exercise!
Building resilience: Challenge & Mastery
Who said this ..?
• “… I put myself under immense pressure - I’m very
healthy, but I need that pressure. It only becomes
stressful when you can’t handle it…..and boy, do I love
handling it!”
• “…This job is everything … I know I will never be under
more pressure … what I have truly gained is the
knowledge that I can cope with the pressure of any job in
the world … and that makes me happy”
Building resilience: “Tough”
experiences
• Tough (very challenging) experiences CAN build
higher resilience but only if …
Failure and success are attributed positively
There are sufficient periods of respite
The challenge seems worth it (long-term goals can be
a source of motivation)
Thoughts and feelings are controlled
Beliefs and ambitions are properly grounded in
reality
Management, leadership & organisational processes
The Well-Being Reservoir
Work
relationshipsLearning &
Development
Resources
Respect &&
communications
attention
Control
Job conditions
Fair Balanced
rewards Workload
Job Security &
Change
Management, leadership & organisational processes
Management, leadership &
organisational processes
• Control the “six essentials” of workplace
well-being
• Balance challenge and support
Tracking well-being AND the drivers of well-being
Resources and
Communication
Control
Work Relationships
Work Life Balance;
Workload
Job Security
& Change
Pay, Benefits & Job
conditions
Psychological
well-being
Selection, assessment & talent
management
Job profile
Person profile
Resources
and
Communication
Resources
and
Communication
Control
Work Relationships
Balanced workload
Job Security
and Change
Job Conditions
“Matching”
Score
Score indicates
if person is
likely to
“flourish” or be
“troubled” in
the role
Control
Work Relationships
Balanced workload
Job Security
and Change
Job Conditions
Profiling the job
Job profile
Resources
and
Communication
Control
Work Relationships
Balanced workload
Job Security
and Change
Job Conditions
Source of pressure in the job
6…………………………………….1
Profiling the person
Troubled by this
1…………………………………….6
Person profile
Resources
and
Communication
Control
Work Relationships
Balanced workload
Job Security
and Change
Job Conditions
Profile comparison
Job profile
Person profile
Resources
and
Communication
Resources
and
Communication
Control
Control
Work Relationships
Work Relationships
Balanced workload
Balanced workload
Job Security
and Change
Job Security
and Change
Job Conditions
Job Conditions
Collaboration to develop tool
Expected outcomes
• A new, simple tool - to help ensure that recruits are
better able to withstand the pressures in a job.
• “Pressure profile” of roles for collaborating
• An executive report summarising the work done and
the main outcomes.
• Preferential access to the tool for collaborating
organisations.
Building & sustaining resilience
• Learning & development
• Effective management, leadership &
organisational processes
• Tracking well-being AND the drivers of wellbeing
• Selection, assessment & talent management
processes
For free tools (including i-resilience) and
downloads from Robertson Cooper
visit www.robertsoncooper.com/gooddayatwork
Contact us: hi@robertsoncooper.com
0161 232 4910
Take your graduate development programmes to the
next level…
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