Personal resilience as a strategy for surviving and thriving in the face of workplace adversity: A literature review

Jackson, D; Firtko, A; Edenborough, M

Personal resilience as a strategy for surviving and thriving in the face of workplace adversity: A literature review

Jackson, D

Firtko, A Edenborough, M

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2007, 60 (1), pp. 1 - 9
Issue Date:: 2007-10-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Jackson, D https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5252-5325	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Firtko, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Edenborough, M	en_US
dc.date.issued	2007-10-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2007, 60 (1), pp. 1 - 9	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0309-2402	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/15589
dc.description.abstract	Aim. This paper is a report of a literature review to explore the concept of personal resilience as a strategy for responding to workplace adversity and to identify strategies to enhance personal resilience in nurses. Background. Workplace adversity in nursing is associated with excessive workloads, lack of autonomy, bullying and violence and organizational issues such as restructuring, and has been associated with problems retaining nurses in the workforce. However, despite these difficulties many nurses choose to remain in nursing, and survive and even thrive despite a climate of workplace adversity. Data sources. The literature CINAHL, EBSCO, Medline and Pubmed databases were searched from 1996 to 2006 using the keywords 'resilience', 'resilience in nursing', and 'workplace adversity' together with 'nursing'. Papers in English were included. Findings. Resilience is the ability of an individual to positively adjust to adversity, and can be applied to building personal strengths in nurses through strategies such as: building positive and nurturing professional relationships; maintaining positivity; developing emotional insight; achieving life balance and spirituality; and, becoming more reflective. Conclusion. Our findings suggest that nurses can actively participate in the development and strengthening of their own personal resilience to reduce their vulnerability to workplace adversity and thus improve the overall healthcare setting. We recommend that resilience-building be incorporated into nursing education and that professional support should be encouraged through mentorship programmes outside nurses' immediate working environments. © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Advanced Nursing	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04412.x	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Nursing	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Adaptation, Psychological	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Attitude of Health Personnel	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Burnout, Professional	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Adult	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Nurses	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Nursing Staff	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Workplace	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Workload	en_US
dc.title	Personal resilience as a strategy for surviving and thriving in the face of workplace adversity: A literature review	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	60	en_US
utslib.for	1110 Nursing	en_US
dc.location.activity	ISI:000249130600001	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	60	en_US

Abstract:

Aim. This paper is a report of a literature review to explore the concept of personal resilience as a strategy for responding to workplace adversity and to identify strategies to enhance personal resilience in nurses. Background. Workplace adversity in nursing is associated with excessive workloads, lack of autonomy, bullying and violence and organizational issues such as restructuring, and has been associated with problems retaining nurses in the workforce. However, despite these difficulties many nurses choose to remain in nursing, and survive and even thrive despite a climate of workplace adversity. Data sources. The literature CINAHL, EBSCO, Medline and Pubmed databases were searched from 1996 to 2006 using the keywords 'resilience', 'resilience in nursing', and 'workplace adversity' together with 'nursing'. Papers in English were included. Findings. Resilience is the ability of an individual to positively adjust to adversity, and can be applied to building personal strengths in nurses through strategies such as: building positive and nurturing professional relationships; maintaining positivity; developing emotional insight; achieving life balance and spirituality; and, becoming more reflective. Conclusion. Our findings suggest that nurses can actively participate in the development and strengthening of their own personal resilience to reduce their vulnerability to workplace adversity and thus improve the overall healthcare setting. We recommend that resilience-building be incorporated into nursing education and that professional support should be encouraged through mentorship programmes outside nurses' immediate working environments. © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/15589