New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Can training help make employees more resilient?

Date:
April 13, 2016
Source:
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Summary:
A five-hour educational program can promote resilience among employees facing downsizing and restructuring, according to a new study. Especially at times of organizational change, many companies use resilience programs to help employees cope with the changes while reducing the potential for negative effects on workforce and business outcomes.
Share:
FULL STORY

A five-hour educational program can promote resilience among employees facing downsizing and restructuring, according to a study in the April Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

Shane Rogerson, PhD, of Energex , Brisbane QLD, Australia, and colleagues evaluated a newly developed program to increase employee resilience, at a workplace dealing with an upcoming merger. One group of employees was randomly assigned to receive the resilience intervention, which consisted of five weekly workshops held during lunch hour. The workshops focused on concepts and techniques to enhance resilience in the context of the workplace.

Participants showed improvement in several aspects of resilience, compared to a group of employees who didn't attend. Program participants had higher total scores on a previously validated Resilience at Work scale, and on subscales measuring some key aspects of workplace resilience: "Finding your calling," "Maintaining perspective," "Managing stress," and "Staying healthy."

Especially at times of organizational change, many companies use resilience programs to help employees cope with the changes while reducing the potential for negative effects on workforce and business outcomes. The intervention evaluated in the study focuses on improving resilience as a "specific capacity within the work environment," rather than as a general personal attribute.

While the study can't provide data on how well the improvements were maintained over time, the results do suggest that a short-term, inexpensive program can promote resilience in the workplace. "Employee resilience can be improved via specific educational and skills training requiring a total time commitment of just five hours, making this intervention feasible for most working environments," the researchers write.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Shane Rogerson, Rudi Meir, Zac Crowley-McHattan, Kathryn McEwen, Rachel Pastoors. A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial Investigating the Impact of a Workplace Resilience Program During a Time of Significant Organizational Change. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2016; 58 (4): 329 DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000000677

Cite This Page:

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. "Can training help make employees more resilient?." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 April 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160413112135.htm>.
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. (2016, April 13). Can training help make employees more resilient?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 5, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160413112135.htm
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. "Can training help make employees more resilient?." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160413112135.htm (accessed October 5, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES