To Enable Workforce Resilience, HR Must Start by Looking in the Mirror

Well-being has been a key focus of workplaces for some time — but what about resilience?

Employees rate their well-being as high (7.5 out of 10) and employer well-being support as significant (60%), according to a national survey of employers and employees by New York Life Group Benefit Solutions.

But an increasing disparity is emerging when it comes to resilience — the ability to adapt in the face of change and to bounce back from adversity or unexpected challenges. Among the same surveyed employees, only a third described themselves as resilient.

“Most workforces are accustomed to the ebb and flow of business cycles, even when outcomes are unfavorable, such as a workforce reduction. Even so, this resilience has been tested in recent years by a global pandemic, social pressures and economic uncertainty, outside of what we have seen before,” said Amy Dufrane, the CEO of the HR Certification Institute (HRCI). “I would say the current state of resilience in today’s workforce is tenuous.”

When it comes to supporting a resilient workforce — a valued employee skill in 2026 — an organization’s HR department and its total rewards (TR) function play a key role. But here’s the problem: Many HR and TR professionals aren’t feeling resilient, either.

Access bonus Workspan Daily Plus+ articles on this subject:

• How Resilient Are You? Use Our Self-Assessment for a Glimpse
• Pressure-Tested: 5 Guidelines for Building Resilient HR Teams

Resilience Under Pressure

Changes, large and small, are hitting workplaces at lightning speed, all requiring reactions and adaptations — and HR often is tasked with the always-exhausting charge of helping their workforce navigate those multi-layered shifts, Dufrane said.

More than 40% of surveyed HR practitioners said they’ve considered leaving the profession in the past year, according to the State of People Strategy Report from HR platform Lattice. HRCI, whose 2026 State of HR report found parallel results, also learned that 55% of industry pros have looked for a different job in the past year.

When it comes to steering employees through unremitting volatility, HR must first refill its own resilience tank.

“HR professionals are inherently self-aware, which makes them more apt to react to situations that compromise workforce resilience,” Dufrane said. “At the same time, they often neglect to put their own oxygen masks on first.”

Recharging HR Adaptability

Attending to their personal resilience levels helps HR pros then turn around and enable a more resilient workforce, said Byron Beebe, the CEO of human capital at risk management and advisory firm Aon.

“Improving personal resilience starts with clarity,” he said. “HR and total rewards leaders benefit from stepping back and determining what is truly within their control versus what is adding noise.”

Then, Beebe added, they should consider these steps:

• Use strong data to simplify decisions.
• Focus efforts on work that materially drives outcomes.
• Tap into perspective and support by building peer connections.

“Creating boundaries that allow time to recover helps turn resilience into a sustained leadership capability rather than a short-term response,” he added.

The Payoff of HR Resilience

According to Beebe, when an organization fails to prioritize the resilience of its workforce, the compounding pressures from increasing health costs, new skills requirements and other changes can erode decision-making and stunt business results.

“Addressing resilience gives organizations the capacity to absorb pressure while sustaining performance,” he noted.

Here’s why focusing on HR resilience helps strengthen the full workplace, according to Dufrane and Beebe:

• HR and TR are a cornerstone of the trust employees have in an organization, which is a pillar of resilience.
• HR teams themselves are dealing with small teams, limited resources and unexpected change, requiring adaptability that can be modeled and emulated across the organization.
• The environment an organization’s leaders create influences its resilience, allowing it to strengthen over time, keeping up with the pace of rapidly accelerating change.
• Trickle-down resilience skills help workers adapt to changes without eroding engagement or momentum.

When employees are apprehensive of rapid change, it’s up to HR to shine a light on the career paths and opportunities available to them, Dufrane said.

“The consequences of not addressing resilience are career-limiting,” she said. “Creating proactive cultures that are shock-tested for their resilience is a requirement, not something we can ignore. Resilience is a future-proof skill that must be actively cultivated.”

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics:

• Organizational Performance
• Total Rewards
• Well-Being