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Understanding individual resilience in the workplace: The international collaboration of workforce resilience model

DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00073
Authors:
Clare S Rees at Curtin University
Clare S Rees
Lauren Breen at Curtin University
Lauren Breen
Lynette Cusack at University of Adelaide
Lynette Cusack
Desley Hegney
Desley Hegney
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When not managed effectively, high levels of workplace stress can lead to several negative personal and performance outcomes. Some professional groups work in highly stressful settings and are therefore particularly at risk of conditions such as anxiety, depression, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout. However, some individuals are less affected by workplace stress and the associated negative outcomes. Such individuals have been described as "resilient." A number of studies have found relationships between levels of individual resilience and specific negative outcomes such as burnout and compassion fatigue. However, because psychological resilience is a multi-dimensional construct it is necessary to more clearly delineate it from other related and overlapping constructs. The creation of a testable theoretical model of individual workforce resilience, which includes both stable traits (e.g., neuroticism) as well as more malleable intrapersonal factors (e.g., coping style), enables information to be derived that can eventually inform interventions aimed at enhancing individual resilience in the workplace. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new theoretical model of individual workforce resilience that includes several intrapersonal constructs known to be central in the appraisal of and response to stressors and that also overlap with the construct of psychological resilience. We propose a model in which psychological resilience is hypothesized to mediate the relationship between neuroticism, mindfulness, self-efficacy, coping, and psychological adjustment.
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... Resilience is variously defined as the "dynamic capability which can allow people to thrive on challenges given appropriate social and personal contexts (Howe et al., 2012)" and an active adaptation to stress resulting from biopsychosocial and ecological interactions (Kalisch et al., 2017). Regarding psychological adjustment, studies in HPS trainees and professionals have shown that resilience is positively associated with psychological well-being and negatively associated with burnout, anxiety, and depression (Chow et al., 2018;Kunzler et al., 2020;Mealer et al., 2012;Rees et al., 2015;Yu & Chae, 2020). Many modifiable determinants of resilience at the individual level have been validated, including meaning in life, sense of coherence, hardiness, self-esteem, active coping, self-efficacy, cognitive flexibility, and religiosity (Kunzler et al., 2020). ...
... Following SDOH models, downstream determinants of resilience in our model entail individual-level psychological and behavioral traits such as "adaptive coping" or "mindfulness" (Rees et al., 2015). In our model, we propose an additional set of downstream determinants that include systemic factors not experienced by HPS until after matriculation, such as the learning environment. ...
Modeling the social determinants of resilience in health professions students: impact on psychological adjustment
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... The effect of resilience on work engagement was significantly stronger for female cancer survivors as well as for relatively older cancer survivors. This is in line with the trend that women cancer survivors are more expected to experience work stress and burnout than it does men (Rees et al., 2015). Their psychological resilience enables them to respond positively to potentially stressful situations, thus protecting them from the potential negative effect of stressors (Fletcher and Sarkar, 2013;Rees et al., 2015). ...
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Predicting work engagement among young adult cancer survivors: A moderated mediation model
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  • Mar 2023
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... The theoretical model of workplace resilience aligns individual characteristics with resilience that may influence psychological functioning. Resilience is considered a critical factor that greatly impacts an individual's subsequent psychological function, and includes variables such as neuroticism, vigilance, self-efficacy, and coping [19]. For instance, studies have consistently shown that high levels of neuroticism are associated with negative psychological distress, leading to high levels of depression and anxiety [20][21][22]. ...
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... 318). It is an important construct for understanding how individuals respond to stressors at the workplace and appears to be a critical determining factor of whether or not unfavorable outcomes arise, such as depression, burnout and compassion fatigue (Rees et al., 2015). Studies have linked resilience to several favorable psychological consequences (Hu et al., 2015;Zhou et al., 2017). ...
Time Pressure, Emotional Exhaustion and Project Manager Abusive Supervision in the Construction Industry: The role of Psychological Resilience
Article
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... Additionally, mindfulness is a phenomenon processed by the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for more connectivity in the brain and is held responsible for stunting the negative affect and consequently increasing the positive emotions in individuals by reducing the overactivation of amygdala involved in experiencing significant emotions [80,81]. An increased level of mindfulness aids emotional balance and benefits mental health [82,83]. Thus, mindful people have better psychological adjustment abilities and decision-making skills as they are consciously cognizant of their vicinity [84]. ...
Mindfulness and Subjective Well-Being of Indian University Students: Role of Resilience during COVID-19 Pandemic
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Full-text available
  • Apr 2023
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is presently a global health issue that negatively affects the mental health and well-being of students globally. The latest investigations have recognized the role of mindfulness in individual subjective well-being. This study explores the mediating role of resilience in the overall relationship between mindfulness and subjective well-being among Indian university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data was collected between 10 August 2020 to 24 October 2020 via a self-administered questionnaire from 589 university students in India. Results revealed that resilience has a partial mediating role between mindfulness and subjective well-being. The results substantiate that resilience has an important role in mindfulness, exercising its advantageous effects on mental health of the students in higher education institutions. This research adds to the knowledge base of mindfulness and subjective well-being of university students, especially in contingent times. Lastly, the study contributes to the existing mindfulness theory.
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... Coping style, social support and psychological resilience are of great significance to nurses' mental health (Chen et al., 2020;Guo et al., 2017). Coping is 'a process of adjustment following an adverse event' (Rees et al., 2015). Compared with negative coping, positive coping seemed to have good adjustment to chronically stressful events (Lin et al., 2010). ...
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  • Mar 2023
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La résilience du personnel soignant à l’épreuve de la pandémie de COVID-19 : une étude dans un hôpital public en Tunisie
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  • Jul 1995
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