Effects of Resilience Building Program on Resilience Workplace Well-being and Work Engagement of Early Career Employees

Abstract

The benefits of resilience building among employees have previously been discussed in several studies. Research on stress in early career workers suggests that they may experience stress more intensely due to their limited coping skills. Additionally, compared to experienced workers, early career workers are found to be more susceptible to workplace adversity (Sawang & Cameron, 2018). Despite numerous studies highlighting the benefits linked to a resilient workforce (Froman, 2009; Luthans & Youssef-Morgan, 2017), the emphasis on creating and assessing resilience-building programs as a primary prevention strategy has only recently gained momentum in the occupational literature (Skeffington et al., 2013; Vanhove et al., 2015). Furthermore, there is an evident scarcity of studies in Pakistan that specifically address the significance of focusing on employee mental health in the workplace. Therefore, the primary objectives of the current study encompass the translation, adaptation, and implementation of the Friends Adult Resilience Program (FARP), an evidence-based intervention. Additionally, the study aims to evaluate the influence of FARP on self-reported resilience, self-esteem, coping self-efficacy, work engagement, and workplace well-being, of early career workers. To achieve a comprehensive cultural adaptation, a four-step plan was implemented, guided by the Ecological Validity Model (Bernal & Sáez-Santiago, 2006), along with the Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications-Enhanced (Stirman et al., 2019). For implementation of FARP thirty-five early career workers from Pakistan services industry were recruited through homogeneous purposive sampling. The participants were allocated to FARP, or control group based on their location, and assessments were conducted at pre and post intervention. The results from both independent and paired t-tests revealed a statistically significant increase in resilience, self-esteem, and coping self-efficacy. Moreover, the overall measures of work engagement and workplace well-being exhibited a significant positive impact. However, the 4 engagement and health sub-domains of workplace well-being showed non-significant changes in both the independent and paired t-tests. Additionally, the results of the repeated measures analysis of variance indicated a significant interaction effect between group and time. Specifically, the FARP group exhibited significant increases in resilience, self-esteem, coping self-efficacy, work engagement, and workplace well-being from pre- to post-intervention, in comparison to the control group. Follow-up validity measures gave valuable insights into participants' perceptions of change, revealing a positive trend and supporting the program's beneficial impact. This study contributes to preliminary support for FARP's efficacy and highlights the importance of evidence-based resilience training for early career workers. Given the scarcity of mental health resources allocated to employee well-being in Pakistan, these findings hold practical implications for fostering a resilient workforce and promoting overall mental health in the workplace.