Emotional resilience is one of the single most underrated skills among high-performing employees. It helps them adapt to unpredictability and change—which seem to be near constants in the current working world—weather particularly stressful environments in and outside of work and maintain consistency and productivity on teams with many different personalities and working styles. Just like any skill, emotional resilience is something that needs to be nurtured and cultivated over time.
This is exactly where health coaches can make a difference. Health coaches play a pivotal role in supporting emotional resilience by implementing science-backed strategies and methodologies tailored specifically to an individual’s needs and environment. For example, if an employee is struggling in a high-pressure environment and is feeling increasingly overwhelmed and demotivated, health coaches can work alongside them to identify potential triggers, create a personalized program to reduce stress-inducing factors, and arm them with data-driven tools to help them manage stress and maintain perspective.
Health coaches are trusted confidants and behavior change experts who provide regular support when it’s needed most. In today’s blog, we unpack just a few of the many ways health coaches support high-performing employees in bolstering their emotional resilience, even when work and life pose their fair share of challenges.
Learn to Manage Stress Effectively
Stress management is core to emotional resilience. If you can manage your stress effectively, then you can successfully self-regulate your emotions even when unexpected circumstances arise (and we all know unexpected twists and turns are par for the course at work). It’s no surprise that stress is one of the single biggest threats to our workforce—survey data suggests that more than half of employees are ready to quit their jobs due to workplace-related stress.
So where do health coaches come into play? Health coaches teach clients science-backed stress management techniques like mindfulness, breathwork and meditation that have demonstrated health benefits. They work alongside clients to identify and enforce boundaries, including between work and personal life, plus help them optimize habits that promote a more healthful lifestyle (like better nutrition and better sleep hygiene). Health coaches understand that what triggers stress in our lives is deeply personal—what might cause you to perceive stress might be different for me. They work closely with you to create a new environment at work and home such that stress can’t possibly thrive.
Cultivate a Strong Support Network
First and foremost, health coaches serve as a regular system of support for their clients. They meet with them regularly, provide space and perspective for sharing deeply personal experiences, co-create goals and troubleshoot potential hurdles. Clients feel accountability, comfort and trust from their health coach partner which are all essential to laying a strong foundation for emotional resilience. Not only that, but health coaches help their clients identify and appreciate the individuals in their life who champion their success and play a critical role in the journey towards achieving their goals (whether this be at work or at home). They teach clients how to nurture a support system that, in turn, bolsters their emotional resilience. Social support and resilience are intricately correlated and health coaches ensure this correlation is consistently positive.
Strengthen Emotional Awareness & Self Regulation
Emotional awareness and self-regulation are core to achieving most health goals and also critical skills in the workplace. Health coaches help clients develop these skills by first getting them in touch with their own emotions through journaling, practicing gratitude, or working through mindfulness exercises – meeting clients wherever they are in their journey and understanding that everyone’s needs are unique. Through these exercises—coupled with other science-backed methodologies like motivational interviewing—health coaches help clients break down the emotional basis of their behaviors and identify patterns in communication responses and reactivity. By evaluating their behavioral patterns and identifying opportunities for improvement, health coaches can champion better ways of working.
Here at YourCoach, we’ve seen the impact health coaches can have on shaping healthier, happier and more productive employees firsthand. Through our flourishing employer partnerships, we’ve partnered with progressive organizations to provide best-in-class health coaching services, giving employees access to our dedicated cohort of validated and verified health coaches. If you’re interested in learning more, send us a note to team@yourcoach.health.