Stories of workplace resilience inspire some people, but can leave others feeling anxious or overwhelmed, according to a new study co-authored by a University of Mississippi management professor. The paper, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, concludes that managers must know their employees well to apply the best motivational techniques. (Graphic by Clara Turnage/University Marketing and Communications)
- Observing resilient coworkers can help or hinder workplace adaptation.
From underdog stories to comeback victories, everyone loves a tale of perseverance. But a new study suggests that highlighting workplace resilience can sometimes leave observers feeling anxious instead of inspired.
Brady Shanklin, University of Mississippi assistant professor of management, and Tyler Sabey, Arizona State University assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship, published their research on the unexpected downside of resilience in the Journal of Applied Psychology.
“Organizations do a lot of broadcasting and highlighting stories of resilience, but we don’t really understand the social dynamics of resilience,” Shanklin said. “We know these stories can sometimes inspire employees and that can lead to positive outcomes in terms of performance and well-being. That, in turn, is good for the organization itself.
“But what we found is that sometimes when we hear these stories, we can instead start to be more anxious or intimidated because we can’t identify with the resilient employee.”
Resilience can take many forms – from successfully handling a difficult client to surviving a natural disaster or serious illness – but is broadly considered to be a positive trait in employees. Research shows that resilience has a “protective effect” against burnout, stress, depression and even employee turnover while improving productivity.
But the researchers found that observing resilience does not affect every employee the same way. While managers often spotlight employees who “push through” adversity, the researchers found observers can walk away thinking either, “If they can do it, so can I” or “I could never do that.”
“We are always comparing ourselves to other people, whether that’s implicit or intentional,” he said. “We put ourselves in another person’s shoes and wonder what we’d do in that situation.
“What we found is it really comes down to how similar we see ourselves to that resilient person.”
To make stories of resilience motivational to a broader range of employees, Sabey and Shanklin said it is important to highlight how the resilient individual is similar to the employees the manager hopes to inspire.
“How are you telling that story of resilience?” Shanklin said. “How are you promoting resilience across your organization? The story cannot just be the nitty gritty of what happened, but also the road map of how it can happen again. Try to make connection points between the story of resilience and the people listening.
“At a really high level, what does that mean? You have to know your employees.”
Knowing employees, including their strengths, aspirations and weaknesses, will help managers draw parallels between stories of resilience and a particular employee’s experience, he said.
“The point is not to stop telling stories of resilience because our study and many studies have shown that there is a very positive side of it that can lead to better performance, better thoughts about stress and things like that,” Sabey said. “We certainly don’t want to get rid of that.
“It’s about being more cautious and careful with how we’re presenting that as leaders and managers so that the positive side impacts as many people as possible.”
