When people ask you to describe yourself, probably one of the first words or phrases that comes to mind is your occupation. The work we do exerts a powerful influence on our lives. It defines our daily routine, our perspectives, and the community we are in. Since work is so central, stress at work can affect our lives greatly. Therefore, it is important to use our resilience skills when encountering obstacles at work. Research has found these 5 things that are important for building resilience at work, so that we can have a pleasant and rewarding career.

1. Significant relationships. As a new worker in a field, it is important to build relationships with long-time workers, and with clients and superiors, rather than just with our peers. ***These people are likely to be more experienced in the field than we are, and they can offer us significant support. Then, when facing adversity, not only the more experienced workers can give us advices, but also the administrative and clients will be more likely to understand us. These supports can build our resilience and help us get through obstacles significantly, thus leaving us more encouraged to stay in the profession and achieve higher.

2. Career competence and skills. Besides relationship, it is also important to be self-cultivating. As a professional, we have to make sure that we are competent for the job. If we lack significant skills for certain job, then we are more likely to face adversity and to be discouraged. Therefore, we should be careful when choosing a career, and get ourselves into the right training programs before starting.

3. Personal ownership or advancement. We should feel responsible  for our jobs. If we feel we own the job, we are more likely to be committed and do better. Moreover, obstacle will appear to us more as a challenge instead of frustration and stressor. In order to develop personal ownership, the most important thing is to choose a career we enjoy. It doesn’t have to be a hobby, but we should make sure that we don’t hate our jobs. Then, with the skills and support we develop, we will feel more committed to the position and become more satisfied.

4. Sense of accomplishment. It is important to have goals in our career. Accomplishing goals can make us satisfied and therefore want to work harder, even facing challenges. If our organization has already been setting goals and rewarding us, then we are already building resilience. Otherwise, we can set goals for ourselves, such as finishing a small project or expanding our networking. Even though our organization might not reward us for achieving them, we are still gaining the sense of accomplishment, which can positively affect our work attitude and build resilience.

5. Sense of humor. The last thing that is important in order to build resilience at work is humor. A light attitude can always help us to stay away from stress. Giving ourselves and our coworkers some humor when facing obstacles can be extremely helpful so that everyone can become more optimistic. Having sense of humor can also draw ourselves out of the depressed state of facing adversity. Moreover, when we are optimistic, solving problems become easier. Therefore, we should train ourselves to be more light-hearted and not forget the sense of humor.