Resilience - Three Reasons Why
Welcome to my first blog of 2020.
I am going to start off this year with a series of articles on resilience in the workplace.
A little less conversation and a little more action please
From my perspective, there has been a lot of talk about resilience in the workplace throughout 2019 but little action.
Firstly, let me be clear that when I talk about resilience in the workplace, I am not talking about resilience in the face of bullying and harassment, bad bosses, toxic environments and the like. Those things are the cause of low resilience in the workplace and should be eradicated.
The resilience I am talking about is resilience in the face of constant and uncertain change which is now our norm.
In the past there have been relatively stable periods between change. Our reality is that those days have long gone. New technologies, artificial intelligence, robotics, big data, start-ups, increased competition, increased customer and consumer demand, globalisation, changing demographics and increased agility are all factors causing us to change at a velocity never know before. Organisational survival relies on innovation and adaptability to keep up with change or even better, stay ahead of it.
Constant change is the new black.
What is the cost?
There is an inordinate amount of research which shows that constant and uncertain change can cause stress, anxiety and depression in the workplace. Without identification and attention this can lead to fatigue and burnout which in turn can have devastating consequences for individuals, their friends and family, and their colleagues and peers.
There is also a significant cost to organisations that don’t address mental health conditions. These include reduced productivity and profitability; increased absenteeism and presenteeism; increased numbers of compensation claims; and higher turnover.
A 2019 World Health Organisation Information Sheet entitled “Mental Health in the Workplace” stated “Depression and anxiety have a significant economic impact; the estimated cost to the global economy is US$ 1 trillion per year in lost productivity.”
Action
Action can be taken and some organisations are moving in the right direction but much more needs to be done.
Improving mental wellbeing and increasing resilience in the workplace goes much much further than providing “Mindfulness on Mondays” and “Fitness on Friday” sessions. It also goes further than provision of Mental Health First Aid Officers in the workplace. Whilst this is a good initiative, it is addressing the problem and not the cause.
The action to address the cause is to create a workforce that is resilient in the face of constant change. This series of articles will discuss what leaders can do and what individuals can to do to achieve that.
What is the ROI?
This series will discuss the need for leaders to build a culture of psychological safety; change the way employees’ skills and capabilities are developed; provide employee autonomy; provide positive reinforcement; remove the stigma associated with mental health issues; establish relationships based on mutual trust and respect; invest in diversity and inclusivity; and have the skills and capability to identify early signs of low resilience and take effective action.
This series will discuss the need for individuals (including leaders) to have capabilities including emotional intelligence; empathy; collaboration; growth mindsets; problem solving; realistic optimism; adaptability; authenticity and self efficacy.
There is no question that enabling leaders and individuals to possess these capabilities will require some investment.
If I told you that the return on investment for every 1 dollar spent is 2.3 dollars, would you take action? That’s more than doubling your money folks!
Back in 2014 Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) undertook a return on investment analysis for Australian employers creating a mentally healthy workplace. To achieve that objective, PwC worked with the National Mental Health Commission, beyondblue, academic experts in mental health and the workplace and representatives from different workplace contexts.
The report “Creating a mentally healthy workplace: Return on investment analysis” states “through the successful implementation of an effective action to create a mentally healthy workplace, organisations, on average, can expect a positive return on investment (ROI) of 2.3.”
The report also listed one of the interventions that organisation can undertake to improve mental wellbeing as “resilience training.”
The WHO also stated the ROI.
“For every US$ 1 put into scaled up treatment for common mental disorders, there is a return of US$ 4 in improved health and productivity.”
The time is now - three reasons why
Reason 1
In 2019 the World Health Organisation (WHO) recognised burnout in the workplace and it now included on the International Classification of Diseases.
It defines is as follows.
“Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:
feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job; and
reduced professional efficacy.
Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”
Reason 2
In November 2019, the Victorian Government Australia introduced workplace manslaughter laws.
“The Victorian Workplace Safety Legislation Amendment (Workplace Manslaughter and Other Matters) Bill 2019 includes fines of up to 100,000 penalty units currently equating to $16,522,000 for bodies corporate, and jail terms of up to 20 years for company officers, who negligently cause a work-related death.”
So, if you are a ‘company officer’ who is found negligent in taking action to prevent mental health issues in the workplace that result in suicide, you could be facing up to two decades in jail and a hefty fine to boot.
There are other states in Australia with similar legislation.
Reason 3
This should serve as a strong warning to corporate executives and management that their actions, or non-action, can have severe consequences. This is evidence of similar legislation I have just mentioned being used in France.
In December 2019, three top corporate executives at French telecommunications company Orange were convicted of “collective moral harassment” and “institutional harassment” for creating a toxic work environment, which led to 35 suicides.
Former CEO Didier Lombard, was sentenced to four months in jail along with a $16,000 fine. His former deputy Louis-Pierre Wenes and human resources director Olivier Barberot received the same sentence. Four other executives were given four-month suspended sentences and 5,000 euro fines.
Summary
If you have got this far, thanks for staying with me.
This was a scene setter and I hope the message is clear.
When I talk about ‘resilience’ I am not just using a buzzword or being touchy feely about life at work. I am talking about the mental health of employees and saving lives.
Whilst only I can be ‘accountable’ for my mental and physical well-being, every organisation and the leadership within it has a morale responsibility to do the right thing.