Investment in creating a resilient workforce is your get out of jail card.

In essence, the concept of workplace manslaughter involves an employer’s negligent conduct – whether action or inaction – which causes the death of an employee or a member of the public.

There are 3 basic criteria for an employer (or officer) to potentially fall foul of this new law: first, the employer’s (or officer’s) negligence; secondly, the employer’s (or officer’s) breach of a duty owed to an individual; and thirdly, that individual’s resulting death.

It was my pleasure to be asked to speak with Sudita Dasgupta about organisational change management on an edition of Vaartaalaap - which means conversation.

2020 sees publication of the revised edition of ‘Balanced Diversity: A Portfolio Approach to Organizational Change.’

Register here to receive your free download of the Balanced Diversity framework poster.

Spending money on building a resilient workforce returns dividends. Employee engagement increases and turnover decreases. Absenteeism and sick leave decrease, and productivity and motivation increase which leads to increased profitability.

I recently did a series of short videos on LinkedIn entitled 13 Reasons Why exploring why every organisation needs to invest in building and sustaining a resilient workforce.

I received positive feedback on the series and was asked to augment it with a series of articles on the same subject.

Before I explore the 13 reasons we need a resilient workforce, I wanted to bust five myths.

In 27 days’ time, if you are responsible for negligently causing death in your workplace, you will be fined and go to jail.

The new Workplace Manslaughter Laws (Victoria, Australia) come into effect on 1st July 2020 and can impose fines of up to $16,522,000 and jail sentences of 20 years.

The Protector protects the team by making sure it has the capabilities and resources to be resilient.

The Protector’s language and behaviours say, “I care about you and I value your contribution.”

Leaders who protect their employees, support and stand up for them. They make sure they have everything they need to get the job done. They are not left to fend for themselves and flounder.

The Restructurer uses cognitive restructuring to challenge negative and reactive thinking.

What we say and how we say it can shape how we think. What we think can increase the intensity of our emotions and the way in which we perceive difficult situations. Therefore, the use of negative language can create negative emotions, which will result in low resilience.

The Enquirer asks questions—a lot of questions.

Leaders have to stop telling people what to do. Effective leaders lead with questions.

When leaders have a conversation based on questions, employees feel valued, motivated and empowered. This helps build resilience in the team.

Karen Ferris joins Pedro Soto in this episode of Westbury Analytics talk radio to talk about the role of analytics in managing change and How Getting Change Right Puts You Ahead of the Competition.

The Reflector provides time for individual and team reflection.

The Reflector encourages every member of the team to reflect on their recent experiences. Discussion about the challenge and how employees coped is encouraged.

This activity facilitates team members in supporting one another. The process can include action planning for the team. Reflection improves resilience.

Superpower - Direction. The Director provides clear direction for themselves and their employees. They provide clear direction but not at the expense of employee autonomy.

They provide clear direction without being prescriptive or micromanaging.

They enable resilience by providing clear direction, and when setbacks occur, they are able to get everyone back on track and working towards shared goals.

Good leadership requires real accountability.

The Accountant is accountable, which means they take personal accountability for the choices they make and for their behaviours and actions.

The Accountant does not point the finger at others when things don’t go to plan. They take ownership and act accordingly.

The Promoter promotes self-care.

In our busy, always-on lives, we can often forget to look after ourselves. When we don't look after ourselves, we can become stressed, anxious, fatigued and burnt out.

Self-care is core to our resilience in a world of constant change. We need to look after ourselves and encourage others to do the same.

The Nurturer builds a culture of trust and respect. When there is trust and respect, employees are connected. They feel safe to express their feelings knowing that there will be respect and their voice will be heard and valued. They trust you, as their leader, to be true to your commitments. It also reinforces that you trust them to do the right thing.

The Includer builds a resilient team by fostering and modeling trust and inclusivity.

The Includer embraces the idea that an inclusive workplace is one in which injury, mental illness or disability do not present obstacles to a fulfilling life in work.

The Includer builds inclusivity through the creation of diverse teams.

The Removalist works to remove the stigma of mental health in the workplace.

Stigma can be one of the greatest barriers to psychological health and safety in the workplace; therefore, it can have a direct impact on employee resilience.

We need to remove the stigma so that employees experiencing mental health issues can reach out sooner, access resources to assist and return to well-being. Generally, less than 1 in 3 employees struggling with a mental health condition seek help.

The Cultivator creates the environment for innovation.

Organisations that cannot innovate to stay ahead of the game will cease to exist.

Employees who do not feel safe to contribute through creativity, experimentation and innovation will have low resilience. Therefore, as a leader, you need to cultivate an environment in which innovation thrives.

The Developer creates a culture of learning. When change is constant and ever increasing in speed, leaders need to move from programs of training to a continuous learning and development model that repeatedly builds employees skills and provides a range of formal training options.