Resilience in Customer Service

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, around a quarter of all employees view their job as the top stressor in their life. But it’s not all doom and gloom! The good news is that decades of research have shown us that resilience is built by attitudes and behaviours that can be adopted and cultivated by anyone. So, what are the key factors that lead to resilience? According to Harvard Business Review, the main ones ‘include optimism; the ability to stay balanced and manage strong or difficult emotions; a sense of safety and a strong social support system.’ The takeaway from this is that since there’s a concrete, well-established set of behaviours and skills associated with resilience, you, too, can learn to be more resilient!

Let’s start with the fundamentals: self-care. Due to the unavoidable demands of the job - where high energy levels are often required and stressful situations need to be effectively dealt with - it’s paramount for customer service employees to prioritise both their mental and physical health.

Learning Objectives

• Identify what resilience is
• Establish the fundamentals of self-care
• Identify what you can and can’t control