Resilience is the new Buzzword but what impact does that have?
Think about the fact if you need to build resilience in your employees indicates you have a workplace where they need to survive, and when faced with survival we are focused on meeting our basic needs. The focus is definitely not on achieving a greater purpose or delivering results for the organisation, rather on protecting our own mental health and wellness. In fact, 45% of all Australians will suffer from a mental illness in their lifetime, so either you or someone in your family will be affected. On a personal level the impact of this will be on our families and how difficult it can be to overcome.
There is also a significant cost to organisations to the tune of $543 million in workers comp claims, an average of 15.3 weeks off (compared to 5.5 for all other claims) and with each claim costing 220% more than physical claims. So why does this happen and what can be done about it.
Firstly, I will share my own experience with you. I have worked in several different industries, sizes of organisations and countries. I am a high achiever who pushes for results and is willing to go the extra mile and I feel I am incredibly resilient. However, I have suffered from work related stress, depression and burn out but none of these have been due to my work ethic but down to the environment and/or the manager I worked for. I have been put in difficult environments, been bullied, sexually harassed and verbally abused to name a few. What follows is a tale of travel, lack of support resulting in me being put in a stressful and potentially dangerous situation:
I was no stranger to travelling alone with work, but that travel was within Europe, short trips, within similar time zones. This trip was to Egypt, somewhere I had never been before, and 3 hours ahead in time zone. My flights and accommodation were booked, along with a car to meet me at the airport. The day before I left, I was chatting with a colleague about my upcoming trip and any advice they might have. They suggested to eat only at hotels or restaurants and, don’t EVER get a taxi, I thought it would be similar to my Europe flights so didn’t really look into things too much.
The flight was uneventful, if crowded and noisier than the commuter flights I was used to in Europe that were full of business executives. On stepping out of the plane the hit of hot air told me I was far from home, however it was stepping into the terminal that was completely different. Full of people with signs, shouting out information and trying to get your attention – heat, noise and smell of sweating bodies instead of the long corridors you walk through with toilets to refresh yourself and a soft background noise of fellow passengers talking softly to one another, in comparison this was like being hit with an air horn. I however navigated getting my visa and luggage finding my way through passport control and out into the arrival’s hall. If I thought it was noisy and busy in the terminal this was manic, all my senses were assaulted, and I felt under attack. I walked the line of signs looking for my name with people shouting at me all the way along trying to identify if I was the person they needed to pick up or seeing if I wanted a taxi to my hotel. But it was fine I knew I had a driver to collect me so all would be okay, however I get to the end of the line and I haven’t found my name, maybe I missed it, so I walk the line three or four more times but with no success.
At this point I’m feeling exposed and vulnerable so take myself off to a corner to decide what to do next, it is 11pm the office is closed so I can’t call them, however I do have the mobile number of an expat working in Cairo. I get out my Blackberry (yes it was 10 years ago) and go to phone him. Except it doesn’t work as my international roaming hasn’t been enabled! Luckily, I had organised getting my personal mobile working, so use that to call my colleague for some advice…but he doesn’t pick up. Not surprising considering the time. At this point my emotions are high and my tear ducts start to work (god that is so annoying, I’m frustrated and scared, not sad, so why does that result in tears?), but before they get a chance to produce a further sign of my vulnerability I take a deep breath and give myself a talking to. ‘Sarah, standing in the middle of the airport and crying is not going to get you out of this situation - think! What options do you have?’
I remember one of the two pieces of advice given me - don’t EVER take a taxi. Okay so what’s the alternative? Train? Not available. Bus? If a taxi isn’t safe, I’m figuring a bus would be worse. Then I spot a sign - Limousines! This brings to mind big black stretch limos but if that’s my only alternative, it might cost a lot but what choice did I have? I’m just at the counter trying to book a car to my hotel when my phone rings and it’s my expat colleague calling back (I nearly cried again!), he speaks to the guy and sorts a price (a third of what he was originally charging!). I was so relieved to talk to Richard, to have a connection in this strange city where I knew no-one, and I promised to text him once I’m at the hotel.
The car ride to the hotel was a literal white-knuckle ride, they didn’t have their lights on, they swerve in and out of lanes (and at times make completely new lanes) and pip their horns constantly. But at least I had a seatbelt on which apparently none of the taxis have which is why you NEVER take a taxi. In the end I closed my eyes as I couldn’t cope with watching any longer and finally got to my hotel room in one piece, physically exhausted and mentally torn to shreds. I picked myself up, dusted myself down and continued on, finding my way to the office the next day and delivering my goals for the trip, as well as finding Richard and thanking him of course.
But what more could I have achieved if I’d arrived without stress and fear, how much more productive could I have been if I had been relaxed and comfortable, with a good night’s sleep? My resilience as an individual enabled me to continue and perform my duties but at what cost to me personally?
This is a tale of practices and procedures not being in place to look after the health and welfare of its employees, as well as a manager who didn’t really care (that’s a whole other story about working with a psychopath). They sent me on this assignment and took no interest in ensuring I would be taken care of. A full risk assessment should have been carried out, with a proper briefing, and back up plans and contact details in place. I can assure you in my subsequent travels around the Middle East and AsiaPac I do this exercise for myself.
My experience isn’t unique, in fact Safe Work Australia reports:
Between 2010–11 and 2014–15, around 91% of workers’ compensation claims involving a mental health condition were linked to work-related stress or mental stress—mental stress refers to the mechanism of injury describing work-related stress in claims data. The most common mechanisms causing mental stress were:
▪ work pressure (31%)
▪ work-related harassment and/or bullying (27%)
▪ exposure to workplace or occupational violence (14%)
▪ other mental stress (9%)
▪ exposure to a traumatic event (7%)
▪ vehicle accident (3%)
▪ being assaulted (3%), and
▪ sexual/racial harassment (2%).
So back to my original question why this continues to happen, and the answer isn’t straight forward it is a lack of focus on mental as well as physical health without the practices in place to support employees. It’s an unbalanced focus on financial results without consideration as to how they are achieved. Along with leaders that haven’t been equipped with the necessary training and skills to create environments that allow their teams to thrive. Finally, I believe organisations are often too focused on short term goals and results rather than looking at the long-term cost of their culture, practices and behaviours.
There is a great deal that can be done to create a culture that employees thrive in but first there needs to be an intention to have a balanced focus in an organisation, recognition that mental health is important and will have a double bonus of reducing costs and increasing productivity. Try these quick reviews to see how you are faring:
Your current sickness rates and what % is due to mental health conditions.
Complaints of bullying, harassment, poor management even if they haven’t been formal.
Current staff turnover rates.
Workplace health and safety incident levels and have any of them resulted in injury, exposure to a traumatic event or assault.
Employee engagement levels.
This data will enable the organisation to not only calculate the costs but also to identify potential problem areas usually found in 3 places:
Purpose – and measurements in place
Practices – and the processes
People – the values and behaviours of the organisation as a whole in particular capability of the leadership team.
My current leadership coaching program will help your leadership team grow their capabilities, if you or someone you know would benefit from some one to one focused coaching then please share my details or sign up today.
