For many who work daily, there is one thing we can all agree on and that is work is often stressful. Deadlines, obstacles, and clashes among colleagues are many reasons why there is tension in the workplace. However, resilient workers form great teams that can withstand stress, be it self-imposed or induced, and promote psychological safety. What separates this group from others is the discipline they have cultivated and the success they can achieve if they apply it, fostering team resilience.
That is the diverging factor: a stressful setting leads to achievement whereas impactful people flourish when faced with challenges. Comprising emotional agility also involves fostering a work culture where team members feel valued, encouraged, and enthusiastic about exceeding expectations. How can one create a team that can endure the workplace environment? Let us find out.
How Can Someone Build Emotional Resilience?
Just like how physical stamina increases due to activity, so does emotional stamina. As for business, resilience means accepting and intelligently coping with shifting circumstances. It’s an ability that stems from having a positive mindset and knowing how to handle disappointment.
Workplace resilience refers to the productive adaptation to the ever-changing circumstances of the business environment, maintaining a positive attitude, and coping with disappointments constructively. This phase of the journey does not mean surviving; the resilient unit can flourish from it. (King, et. al., 2016)
The more emotional strength a worker possesses, the better their collaboration. Motivation, goal-seeking behaviour, and increased focus serve to aid the employee during difficult times. There is nothing wrong in stating that engaged and empowered employees lower the burden on your shoulders and greenlight your success by building resilient teams. (Grant & Kinman, 2014).
- Nurturing an Environment that Prioritises Employee Wellness at Work
If your employees are not comfortable proposing their ideas or even asking for help, consider this a problem. It is known that employees are operating in a psychologically safe environment, that is, when they are not judged, ostracised, or belittled for self-expression. (Kalisch, et. al, 2017)
So, how do we build this kind of environment? First, communication must be free-flowing and encouraged. Foster a culture where silence is not an option, let your colleagues and employees speak their minds, ask questions, seek opinions or even raise issues that affect them, without any repercussions. Leaders should also show weakness because being open about issues will definitely create the same culture within the team.
- Encourage Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Training
Emotional intelligence is not just a term thrown around idly, it is more of a let’s-change-the-game kind of terminology. Understanding one’s feelings and showing empathy helps strengthen workplace relationships and helps put forth different ways of conflict resolution on any level. (Makkar & Basu, 2019)
Encourage these individuals to become self-aware, actively listen, and give feedback to the point where they don’t sound abrasive. Mindfulness or journaling will increase one’s self-awareness and allow one to control emotions even when one feels pressure.
- Teach Your Team to Combat Stress Like a Professional
Yes, there is an element of stress in every sphere of life. Nonetheless, it should not overstep into the office setting. If you expect your team to cope with stress, you must work on effective stress management skills. An optimal work-life balance will, in most cases, rest on having flexible work schedules or working remotely if possible. You also need to assist employees in gaining access to mental health services such as EAP and wellness workshops. (Aziz & Ong, 2025)
Encourage every form of movement, be it yoga, short work breaks, group sports, or even lunchtime walks – anything to get the blood pumping and build resilient teams. And most importantly, let your team know that breaks are good! It’s counterproductive to stick to the desk working all the time. Knowing when to step back from the desk is useful and should be encouraged.
- Change to Growth Mindset
The way people approach problems defines how people can solve them. A growth mindset is accepting the barriers and considering failures to be a learning opportunity. It means that every effort put in represents a challenge to be embraced rather than something to fear.
Consider it this way – allow people to try new approaches and learn from the experience without dwelling on whether it was a success or failure. Make it a core company goal to actively nurture a learning culture through continuous professional development, training sessions, or mentorship. More importantly, it changes the way that failure is perceived, enabling team members to bounce back and build resilience. (Luthar, et. al, 2000)
- Make Team Bonds Stronger and Build Resilience Within the Group
Employees with stronger ties to each other at work tend to perform much better than employees who do not. A robust support structure helps them cope with stress and challenges better than others.
Foster community by having team lunches, happy hours, offsite, or just fun casual team meetings. Foster an appreciation culture – people perform better if they are feeling appreciated for their efforts. Do not forget the mentors – putting people together with mentors or accountability people can generate very robust professional and emotional support systems. (Lawton-Smith, 2015)
- Get to Work Early and Foster Psychological Safety Among Team Members
Composure comes from practice, and that comes from knowing that your higher-ups maintain composure even during the most stressful situations. Rigid leadership sets the tone for the entire workplace; the impact of calculating, informative steps to build team resilience is priceless. (Lawton-Smith, 2015) Therefore, the workplace should be built on structured thought.
Become the clear filter through which all information is directed. This ensures that every step eliminates emotional concerns, stress, and unpredictability.
Become empathetic to the plights of your employees, listen to them from a place of understanding, and ensure that you follow up sufficiently. Always try to remind your team that processes are gradual; challenges and setbacks are not failures but catalysts for improvement and growth. Resilience in leadership brings value to the whole organisation.
The InPsychful Wellness Team Building Experience
Our InPsychful team strives to achieve a strong and well-connected workplace and understands the importance of having a motivated team. That is why we have implemented corporate wellness team building programs that solve modern issues while also enabling collaboration and personal growth.
Every session focuses on inspiring actionable change that enhances creativity and collaboration. Each session contains two segments:
- The Wellness and Emotional Connection segment allows employees to identify the stressors they face and teaches them ways to manage it while also enhancing team bonds. Our Overbaked! card game is based on psychology and is supported by discussions to help attendees dive deeper and understand their emotions better alongside their colleagues. When teams are empathetic and share ideas, they become more cohesive which fosters a strong work environment.
- The Staff Motivation Workshop identifies disinterest and guides employees towards rediscovering their zeal towards work. Employees are helped in identifying shrouded self-beliefs along with what their deepest motivators are. From there they set out to pave a road for personal and career growth. Employees become re-engaged with their work when their aspirations align with an organization’s goals which results in a well-placed workplace.
With motivated and valued employees, businesses perform optimally. What’s stopping your team? If you need proactive and personal mental health assistance for yourself or a team member, a colleague or a loved one, we can help. Contact us today to get started.
References:
Kalisch, R., Baker, D. G., Basten, U., Boks, M. P., Bonanno, G. A., Brummelman, E., et al. (2017). The resilience framework as a strategy to combat stress-related disorders. Nat. Hum. Behav. 1, 784–790. doi: 10.1038/s41562-017-0200-8
King, D. D., Newman, A., and Luthans, F. (2016). Not if, but when we need resilience in the workplace. J. Organ. Behav. 37, 782–786. doi: 10.1002/job.2063
Makkar, S., & Basu, S. (2019). The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Workplace Behaviour: A Study of Bank Employees. Global Business Review, 20(2), 458-478. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972150917713903
Aziz, A. & Ong, T. 2025/01/31. BMC Public Health. Access to employee assistance programs and employee wellbeing: a cross-sectional study of employees in Southeast Asia. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21358-7
Lawton-Smith, C. (2015). How coaching helps leadership resilience: the leadership perspective. Int. Coach. Psychol. Rev. 10, 6–19. doi: 10.53841/bpsicpr.2015.10.1.6
Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D., and Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: a critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Dev. 71, 543–562. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.00164
Grant, L., and Kinman, G. (2014). Emotional resilience in the helping professions and how it can be enhanced. Health Soc. Care Educ. 3, 23–34. doi: 10.11120/hsce.2014.00040