In my last post, I passed along tips from the APA for keeping your employees productive and resilient.  One of them was: “Don’t panic. Take a deep breath.  Don’t get swept up in doom-and-gloom hype. Stay calm, focused and realistic so you can consider all of your options carefully.”

What is resiliency, and why is it important to your corporate health and wellness program?  Merriam Webster defines “resilience” as:

1: the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress

2: an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.

During my volunteer firefighter training, I learned resiliency is also key to survival. 100 firefighters die each year in the line of duty, and many of these deaths are from heart attacks. Firefighters are trained to make instantaneous life and death decisions in terrifying situations.  Survival depends on their ability to perform under stress, think clearly, and remain strong.

You need your employees to thrive in stressful times.  You want them to have the survival skills that will keep them ahead of the game when times are hard. Job descriptions are changing, work loads are changing.  In other words, they must be able to take a deep breath, calmly assess a situation, and make clear decisions. Resiliency. It’s about survival.