6 of the best

The pace of change in business has forced organisations to become more agile. Call it the “digital revolution” or “the future of work,” or blame it on automation and artificial intelligence — no matter how you slice it, the most important thing businesses can do now is increase their ability to adapt to change. Experts call this agility.

It is one thing to be agile within the workplace. But it is another for your colleagues and employees to have the necessary resilience.

The fact is, agility without resilience creates burnout. Not something you want in your workplace. It is about how your workplace manages and copes with constant change.

Some will adapt better than other.

There was a study: Resilience and Agility: The Dynamic Duo for the New World of Work and after receiving all the data, analysing the respondents with a cluster analysis of the qualities of resilience and agility and their relationship to each other, it was discovered there are six segments that range from low resilience and low agility to high resilience and high agility. Then we looked at how this might impact key workplace metrics.

Here are those individual categories and their qualities.

Soulful Sufferers

What problems might the Soulful Sufferer encounter? The Soulful Sufferer is a caring person who is struggling — struggling to be adaptive, struggling and worrying about relationships and work. Their low resilience and agility put them in danger of burnout and quitting.

What opportunities lie ahead of them? They exhibit high levels of empathy to care about the people around them, giving them potential for team leadership.

How can you support them? By helping them build the resilience skills necessary for emotion control and awareness of thinking styles, you can help them lower stress and harness their empathy for the benefit of the team.

70% report a high sense of pressure

49% depression and anxiety risk

13 days average absence

Checked Out(just going through the motions in life and work)

What problems might Checked Out employees encounter? They have very high levels of stress about work and money. With low self-confidence, empathy, and relational connection, and very low interest in learning, they need real help to perform at work.

What opportunities lie ahead of them? The Checked Out persona needs help and they need it now. They have low empathy and relational connection — this, combined with high anxiety, means they can be impulsive and frequently overreact.

How can you support them? Start with the basics by helping them learn to manage their financial and work stress. Then show them how to build their connection to work and their teammates.

88% report having no empathy report

60% low problem solving skills

09 days average absence

Status Quos(have fixed mindsets without a desire to change)

What problems might Status Quo employees encounter? They believe life is good just as it is. They have low agility but moderate resilience, which provides the balance they like: a stress-free cruise. They don’t extend a great deal of effort to learn, adapt to new people, or improve wellbeing habits like diet and exercise.

What opportunities lie ahead of them? They are stuck, along with the employees that report to them, until they embrace a growth mindset.

How can you support them? You can give them a chance to build a mindset of success, connect to your core values, and work on building empathy

63% report low connection to work

94% do not enjoy finding and solving everyday challenges

LOW meaning and purpose

Strivers(strivers have high agility but low resilience)

What problems might Strivers encounter? Strivers exhibit high anxiety, feel a sense of pressure, and lack awareness that their thinking is limiting their potential. Without resilience, they’re unable to focus or use their time properly, get frustrated, and disengage, which leads to burnout.

What opportunities lie ahead of them? Strivers are brimming with untapped potential. They have a growth mindset full of meaning and purpose, and they desire innovation, risk, and learning.

How can you support them? Give them ample opportunities to learn, grow, and seek new challenges. However, it’s critical to help them learn how to change their stressful thought patterns and manage their anxiety.

IMPORTANT! This combination means they have lots of potential but they’re also at high risk for burnout.

27% increased risk of depression

54% increased risk of anxiety

66% experience more negative than positive emotions

Stretched Superstars(stretched superstars are all in)

What problems might Stretched Superstars encounter? Stretched Superstars want to do it all, but their high-wire act comes with a cost: They have the highest work-life conflict, which drags on their full potential.

What opportunities lie ahead of them? They’re highly agile and resilient, natural leaders who thrive in an environment of change and opportunity. They identify with their work and are the most committed to ongoing learning and creatively adapting. Their positivity, self-confidence, focus, problem-solving skills, and empathy make them feel like they can do it all.

How can you support them? Help Stretched Superstars uncover the thinking patterns and inner conflicts that fuel their time-management stress.

100% report time and work-life conflict

79% report strong emotion control

LOW absence and depression

Change Masters(change masters have it all)

What problems might Change Masters encounter? None! This persona is the benchmark all others should strive toward. By measuring this cohort’s performance and personalities, you can find traits for others to emulate.

What opportunities lie ahead of them? The combination of high adaptivity and strong resilience skills means they have the cool, calm, collected attitude to manage stress and challenges while still embracing innovation and delivering high performance.

How can you support them? Since Change Masters are deeply human with strong empathy and interpersonal adaptability, providing opportunities to coach and lead teams will benefit not only this group but all others

75% see the purpose in their work

66% have strong networks

91% report strong problem-solving skills

With all these personas in your workforce, it can be hard to understand who they are and what they need. So take your time to understand that not everything may be as it seems.

Of course, everyone fits somewhere along this spectrum and it might change over time, depending on each individual choice to change or possible maturity and/or their environment. However, here you have 6 personalities which can give you an idea of how people within your workplace might adapt to the constant changes at work.