Building resilience in testing times

2020 has been annus horribilis for businesses. Wellness specialist Robin Wilson and change strategist Leonie Wallwork reflect on Covid-19’s fallout and offer some timely advice around resilience for thriving in the new business ‘normal’. 

vThere are more than half a million business enterprises in New Zealand. It’s safe to say not a single one escaped the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Over the past eight months enterprises, large and small, have been left reeling from the aftermath of fluctuating alert levels and a tsunami of Covid-related compliance.

Amongst all the doom and Zoom meetings many business owners and their employees have managed to emerge more productive and resilient. 

Unfortunately others continue to struggle in this new reality.

In the wake of the disruption and uncertainty Robin Wilson and Leonie Wallwork, directors of Workplace Wellness – a Hawkes Bay-based consultancy that helps businesses and individuals develop strategies and solutions around practical health, safety and well-being – have been inspired more than ever to help Covid-affected business owners build resilience.

Leonie admits that in the early days of the pandemic, with so much going on, they felt like “the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff”.

“I was involved in the covid response for the local Regional Business Partners programme, and spoke to more than 600 businesses locally. We could see the need to get alongside people – to collaborate with, and start the conversation [around resilience],” she says.

Robin and Leonie discovered a high level of resilience already amongst many businesses, despite dealing with the pressures of capacity, expectations, talent acquisition, and the relentless unpredictability.

As for workplace wellness, even in normal (pre-Covid) times business owners often don’t realise the risks of staff turnover, low productivity, or low engagement, and how much this can cost their business, says Robin. 

“They may simply view a workplace wellness programme as something fluffy. But health, safety and well-being are an important part of managing business risks.

“It can cost from 75 to 150 percent of a staff member’s salary to [fund a new] recruit, and those dollars can quickly add up.”

Covid-19 and its associated lockdowns has prompted many business owners to rethink their business model. But because they’ve spent a lot of time working in isolation, they haven’t necessarily had the chance to take their team on the journey with them.

“When you’re talking about resilience in a change environment, some people handle change well, while others get quite derailed,” says Leonie.

“Personal values are being tested, which is a challenge when you’re trying to live authentically.

“They’re having to step back in a world where so much is happening right now and analyse what is important to them. What is their purpose and alignment? Their belonging? This is all part of the resilience process too.”

Maintaining perspective

In these times, resilience is about maintaining your perspective. Workplace Wellness utilises the Resilience@Work (R@W) – a toolkit Robin and Leonie were first introduced to while completing an Outward Bound well-being course at Anakiwa. The course, with its rock-climbing challenge, teaches participants a lot about resilience and determination.

R@W is scientifically validated and developed by Australian-based organisational psychologist Kathryn McEwen, for which Robin is the New Zealand consortium lead.

One of the central components of the toolkit is about maintaining perspective, Robin says, which has become vital for business owners during the pandemic. 

“It’s about reframing your setbacks and minimising the impact of any negativity. It may be an oldie but it’s a goodie – focus on what you can control. This is a really big part of resilience.

“People think resilience is about toughening up or bouncing back. It’s not. It’s about better preparation and equipping ourselves for future obstacles. A practical, down-to-earth approach is what’s required.”

Building a strong network is part of this process too, because every business owner needs a support group. Covid is a marathon not a sprint, Robin reminds us, and tactics, strategies, maintaining good health, and living to your strengths will ultimately get you through.

Honest conversations, holistic health

Managing a business and maintaining resilience in today’s world requires internal conversations – honest and brave conversations around self-regulation.

“We talk so much about resilience and self-regulation in children, helping them regulate their big emotions, but as adults we also need to take this on board as part of our resilience,” explains Leonie. “We must self-regulate why we’re feeling, say, angry or sad in order to steady the ship.”

But don’t think that resilience is just mind-over-matter – physical health also plays a vital role. Indeed as Robin and Leonie point out, physical and mental health are inter-linked and include gut-health, eating well, sleeping well, and exercising regularly.

“You cannot just take one aspect on its own, or one piece of the puzzle,” says Leonie. “We always work on all those dimensions of wellness.”

Another important factor related to workplace wellness is that if you, the business owner, has got it all sussed, then your employees benefit too.

“You’ve got to ‘be well to lead well’. There’s no point hosting a stress workshop, for example, if your business’s culture is not good. It’s like putting a ‘bandaid’ on a wound.” 

Leonie reminds us that if a business fails financially it always affects the physical and emotional health of the business owner too. “That’s why we must always look at a business case from a holistic model of health.”

Lessons and reflections

Before Covid came along, we were already living in a fast-paced world. Now that pace has picked up even further. There’s so much more daily information to process.

Robin and Leonie’s advice is to treat every day as a learning day. Reflect on what happened each day, on how you felt, and how you could have done things better. Learn from it.

Realise that you’re in business for the long haul. Be kind to yourself and to your employees, so they’re fully in sync with you.

“Remember, while you may have people on your payroll who are resilient as individuals, the team as a whole may not be on the same page,” Robin points out. “During Covid you’ve been forced into decisions and changes, even restructuring, very quickly, but have you brought your team along with you?” 

Now’s the time to get everything back into alignment, she suggests.  

To contact Robin Wilson or Leonie Wallwork email [email protected] or visit the Workplace Wellness website.