This document discusses building resilience in graduates. It defines resilience as being psychologically healthy and capable of handling challenges effectively. Graduates need resilience due to stresses like frequent travel, long work hours, and high workload. Six essential workplace factors that influence well-being are identified: resources/communication, control, relationships, workload balance, job security, and job conditions. The document recommends training graduates in resilience skills, managing these workplace factors effectively, tracking graduates' well-being and stresses, and using selection processes to match graduates' profiles to suitable jobs.

1. Are your graduates tough enough?
Building resilience and well-being
Professor Ivan Robertson, Nicole Ferguson
Robertson Cooper Ltd

2. Overview
• What is resilience and why does emotional well-
being matter?
• Why do graduates need resilience?
• Graduates’ resilience, mental toughness & well-being
during difficult times
• Building emotional resilience and well-being in
graduates

3. 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

4. Resilience – Alias...
• Vitality
• Energy
• Flexibility
• Mental toughness/strength
• Hardiness, etc...

5. 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

6. Why psychological well-being matters
Stress
Hypothalamus reacts and releases
biochemicals (specifically CRF)
Longer term
HPA & Sympathetic Nervous consequences, inclu
System activated ding heart
disease, immune
system disruption
Shorter term physical reactions: increased BP, pulse rate ...
Stomach distress, headache, musculoskeletal pain, sleep disturbances

7. Why psychological well-being
matters

8. Why well-being matters
• Cardiovascular risk
Blood pressure
Cholesterol
HR variability
• Weight/Diabetes
Glucose regulation
Protein & fat metabolism
• Immune system
Inflammatory processes
Autoimmune problems

9. 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)

10. Why does it matter?
35
30
25
Positive W/being
20 scores
Moderate
15
W/Being scores
10 Low W/Being
scores
5
0
% Colds
Cohen et al., Psychosomatic Medicine, 2003

11. Psychological well-being:
The link to performance
Some studies:
• Donald et al., (2005) – almost a • Cropanzano and Wright (1999) Five
quarter (23%) of variance in year longitudinal study of
employee productivity (sample of psychological well-being and
16,000UK employees) is explained performance. Strong correlation
by: between well-being and work
- Psychological well-being performance
• Taris & Schreurs (2009)
- Perceived commitment of Client satisfaction (66 organisations,
organisation to employee r=.29)
• Ford et al., (2011)
- Resources and communications Overall performance (111
organisations, total sample 10,000+,
r=.40)

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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,

15. Why do we need resilience?:
N= 20,000, General
Total stress working population
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

16. What factors influence psychological
well-being and resilience at work?
Person Situation
Work
Non-work

17. i-resilience : Personal resilience

18. Important workplace factors
• Demands
• Control
• Support
Johnson & Hall, 1988; De Lange et al., 2003; O’Driscoll & Brough, 2010

19. Workplace factors and well-being
• Demands • Demands
• Control • Control
• Relationships • Support
• Change
• Change • Role
• Role • Reward &
• Support contribution
The ‘6 Essentials of
workplace well-being’ -
Robertson Cooper

20. 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)

21. Work & Well-Being

22. 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?

23. Building & sustaining resilience
• Learning & development
• Effective management, leadership &
organisational processes
• Tracking well-being AND the drivers of well-
being
• Selection, assessment & talent management
processes

24. 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 emotion-
focused 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”

25. Personal resilience
Confidence
Recognise your strengths
Positive attribution
Challenge & mastery
Physical well-being
Purposefulness Social Support
Practical tips
Personal moral compass Effective networking
and
Achieving your goals techniques to Gratitude visits
build
Positive mental time travel resilience Capatalising
Workplace purpose Empathy vs. sympathy
Adaptability
Resilient thinking
Thinking errors
Mindfulness
Working smarter

26. 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!

27. Building resilience: Challenge & Mastery

28. 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”

29. 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

30. Management, leadership & organisational processes

31. The Well-Being Reservoir
Work Control Job conditions
relationships
Learning &
Development Fair Balanced Workload
rewards
Resources&
Respect &
communications
attention
Job Security &
Change

32. Management, leadership & organisational processes

33. Management, leadership &
organisational processes
• Control the “six essentials” of workplace
well-being
• Balance challenge and support

34. Tracking well-being AND the drivers of well-being
Resources and
Communication
Control
Work Relationships
Psychological
Work Life Balance;
Workload well-being
Job Security
& Change
Pay, Benefits & Job
conditions

35. Selection, assessment & talent
management
Job profile Person profile
Resources Resources
and and
Communication Communication
“Matching”
Control Score Control
Score indicates
Work Relationships if person is Work Relationships
likely to
Balanced workload “flourish” or be Balanced workload
“troubled” in
Job Security the role Job Security
and Change and Change
Job Conditions Job Conditions

36. Profiling the job
Source of pressure in the job
Job profile 6…………………………………….1
Resources
and
Communication
Control
Work Relationships
Balanced workload
Job Security
and Change
Job Conditions

37. Profiling the person
Troubled by this
1…………………………………….6 Person profile
Resources
and
Communication
Control
Work Relationships
Balanced workload
Job Security
and Change
Job Conditions

38. Profile comparison
Job profile Person profile
Resources Resources
and and
Communication Communication
Control Control
Work Relationships Work Relationships
Balanced workload Balanced workload
Job Security Job Security
and Change and Change
Job Conditions Job Conditions

39. 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.

40. Building & sustaining resilience
• Learning & development
• Effective management, leadership &
organisational processes
• Tracking well-being AND the drivers of well-
being
• Selection, assessment & talent management
processes

41. For free tools (including i-resilience) and
downloads from Robertson Cooper
visit www.robertsoncooper.com/gooddayatwork
Contact us: hi@robertsoncooper.com
0161 232 4910
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