What is it about?
How do employees respond when they observe resilience in the workplace? Our research shows that while seeing others overcome challenges can be inspiring, it can also provoke anxiety—especially for employees who feel dissimilar to the resilient individual.
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Why is it important?
Resilience is celebrated as having positive implications for individuals and organizations. As we unpack the social dynamics surrounding resilience, our research shows that observing resilience can indeed inspire employees—but it can also create anxiety when people feel they are fundamentally different from the person displaying resilience. Understanding these mixed reactions can help organizations highlight resilience in ways that optimize employee performance without unintentionally discouraging others.
Perspectives
I love exploring the different ways people experience and respond to resilience. This article was partly motivated by watching my own young children face challenges and bounce back from adversity. My hope is that people (including my children!) will learn to see themselves in other resilient individuals and feel inspired to grow and perform at their absolute best—whether in business, athletics, the arts, relationships, or other areas of life.
Braydon Shanklin
University of Mississippi
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: If it does not kill you, does it make me stronger? The double-edged consequences of observing resilience in the workplace., Journal of Applied Psychology, February 2026, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/apl0001369.
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