LRD guides and handbook June 2019

Workplace action on mental health - a trade union guide

Chapter 7

Avoiding an employer’s ‘resilience’ approach

[ch 7: page 36]

The TUC issues a note of warning in relation to training programmes proposed by some employers, which have become known as a “resilience” approach — basically asking workers to cope better with stress. It is based on the idea that, through training and personal development, people can “bounce back” from adversity or change. The TUC sees this as an example of “blame the worker” for not being strong enough to cope with work stressors, rather than the work (see also pages 21-22).

Many unions and the TUC run their own mental health training courses (see page 12).

https://www.tuc.org.uk/blogs/mental-health-work-%E2%80%93-time-tackle-workplace-stress-and-discrimination