Poster Presentation 6th World Congress on Positive Psychology 2019

Growing Resilience During Redundancy (#519)

Catherine J Bell 1
  1. Bell Training Group Pty Ltd, Ocean Grove, VICTORIA, Australia

A manufacturing company in Melbourne was closing their plant, with the entire staff facing waves of rolling redundancies. Considerable training and redeployment programs had already been provided in house, but staff were stressed, with performance and mental health declining rapidly. I delivered a customised program of proven PP practices, to build resilience and restore hope for the future. The program consisted of a series of short-burst learning videos and activities for small groups to experience together over 12 weeks. A separate “crisis support” program was also delivered, with self-regulation activities, guided visualisations and mental health support hotline details. Weekly Coaching was provided to the program manager, ensuring successful delivery. Delivered in-house and led by Supervisors from the business, buy-in and engagement was high and participation enthusiastic as the team processed the cognitive and emotional impact of the plant closure, working in small groups to support each other. Each individual built a daily resilience practice from the suggested activities, enhancing optimism and hope and helping them move positively into job interviews and new careers. Quality Audits and productivity were positively impacted, returning to previous higher levels; successful plant closure was achieved with minimal negative impact on staff mental and emotional wellbeing.