I recently enrolled in a course on Building Personal Resilience, by Macquarie University, on Coursera. Here are a few learnings from Week 1 of the course:

1. Stress is omnipresent in nearly all walks of life.

2. Some people respond to stress better than others.

3. The amount of stress we experience in the workplace is a function of our skill sets, our manner of working, and how we interact with others.

4. Historically, whenever humans are under stress, we tend to respond with a flight or fight response. These responses may have served us well in tackling dangers from predators, but these are not apt responses for modern workplaces.

5. We have no choice but to learn the nature of stress, find ways to manage stress, and build resilience. Doing so can help us navigate stress in a variety of situations that we may encounter.

The relationship between stress and productivity is not always inverse. In cases where the demands on a worker are lower than the workers skill sets and ability, there is a likelihood of the worker getting bored and, therefore, disillusioned with work. At the other end of the spectrum, if a worker is overburdened with work, he will experience anxiety and even have a breakdown in extreme cases. The optimum state is where the demands on a worker are in sync with the worker’s ability.

The Stress-Resilience Framework:

The stress resilience framework consists of the following elements:

1. Stressors: These are the cause of stress. These could range from demands on our time, demands on our work, and our anticipation of demands on us.

2. Stress Reactions: These are physiological reactions to stress and could range from heavy breathing, high BP, dryness of throat, sweating etc.

3. Resilience: This is the capability of an individual to handle stress and navigate challenges thrown to them.

4. Direct Resilience: These are ways to cope with stress by avoiding stressors or reaching out to a support network to talk about stress being experienced.

5. Lifestyle Resilience: These are changes we undertake in our lifestyle that can help us cope with stress better. Example: exercising and sleeping optimally.

Week 1 was exciting, and I look forward to week 2!