Resilience at work is the ability to recover from setbacks, adapt well to change and keep going in the face of adversity. Difficult colleagues and office politics are common drains on it. Resilient people and organisations share three traits: they accept reality as it is, find meaning in hardship, and improvise practical solutions with what they have.
Last updated · Bodhih Insights team · reviewed by Siddharthan VGJ, Founder
Managing difficult people or office politics at work is often described as a major drain on resilience, along with stress brought on by overwork and having to withstand personal criticism.
The wellsprings of resilience are equally applicable to organizations confronting historic challenges and to individuals confronting the thousand small cuts we may be inflicting on one another every day. Resilient people possess thee characteristics — a staunch acceptance of reality; a deep belief, often buttressed by strongly held values, that life is meaningful; and an uncanny ability to improvise. You can bounce back from hardship with just one or two of these qualities, but you will only be truly resilient with all three.
These three characteristics hold true for resilient organizations as well.… Resilient people and companies face reality with staunchness, make meaning of hardship instead of crying out in despair, and improvise solutions from thin air. Others do not.
Quick answers
What are the three characteristics of resilient people?
The page describes three: a staunch acceptance of reality, a deep belief, often supported by strongly held values, that life is meaningful, and an ability to improvise. People can bounce back with one or two of these, but true resilience needs all three, and the same holds for resilient organisations.
