Improving Workplace Adaptability
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What is adaptability in the workplace?
Demonstrating adaptability in the workplace involves adeptly handling evolving conditions and swiftly acquiring new skills. An adaptable employee embraces challenges with an open mind, readily assimilating fresh concepts, methods, and technologies. Effective employee management nurtures and encourages these qualities, fostering a dynamic and resilient workforce.
Flexible employees excel at adjusting current strategies and procedures to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving environment, a crucial skill in today's dynamic workplace. This article highlights why this soft skill is increasingly vital in the new post-pandemic world of work, emphasizing its relevance in effective document management and organizational adaptability.
How to be adaptable at work
In this changing world of work, it is important to show that you have adaptability even before you start work. Today, 60% of employers think adaptability has become more important in the last decade. However, 44% of employees don't think they have adaptability and only 15% of applicants highlight their adaptability on their resume.
But most of us have had to adapt to change at some point, so you are probably more flexible than you think. Here are a few keywords you can add to your resume to illustrate your level of adaptability.
- Open-mindedness
An open-minded person can come up with new ideas and try different ways of working when needed. They are aware of their surroundings and can offer a fresh point of view and approach problems with a creative and strategic mindset.
Open-minded people also look at the bigger picture and don't solve problems with temporary quick fixes. They understand that sometimes they need to completely change their work methods and are able to do so.
- A creative thinker
Creative thinkers can experiment with new ideas, improvise when needed and reflect on the outcome of their efforts. Creative thinkers are especially important in a hybrid work environment as they can come up with novel ideas to communicate with colleagues, ensure instructions are shared and understood and keep teams on the same track despite working from different locations.
- Eager to learn new skills
As new technologies change the roles of many workers, candidates who are open to learning new things and grasping new technologies are highly sought after. Take AI, for example. According to Forbes, 50% of Americans are excited about AI, while the other 50% are afraid of it. Fear of the unknown is natural, but those who adapt to revolutionary new technologies make the most of it.
Adaptability in the workplace is more important now than ever.
As Charles Darwin once said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is best able to adapt to change.”
164 years later, Darwin's quote is still relevant. Today, adaptability is one of the top five qualities employers look for in a new employee.
How to Improve Your Adaptability
Keep Your Cool During Uncertain Times
Uncertainty in the workplace can range from massive worry about whether you will win much-needed new business to feeling unsure whether you will meet an important deadline on time. We are all human, and humans tend to find uncertainty rather unsettling. A 2016 study shows that people find uncertainty even more stressful than knowing that something bad is definitely going to happen.
Uncertainty triggers a fight-or-flight response that can lead to a tense office atmosphere, rushed work, and poor results. But people with adaptability can handle unforeseen circumstances by taking control of the situation, keeping a cool head, and maintaining a calm, productive, and peaceful workplace.
Be prepared to kill your darlings
When our ideas are implemented by management, it boosts our egos tremendously. But we must remember that not every idea will be a winner.
Adaptable people know when to let go of their ideas that have proven to be counterproductive.
That's not to say you shouldn't give up on an idea you believe in every time you encounter rejection. But if your colleague or superior clearly has a newer and more efficient way of doing things, don't be afraid to embrace the change and try to do things differently. If it doesn't work out, you can always politely suggest improvements.
Help out with other tasks
Performing well at work isn't just about being the best in your own role. Rolling up your sleeves to help a colleague with a tight deadline or taking on an unfamiliar task that goes beyond your job description shows that you are flexible, that you care about achieving fantastic results and, most importantly, that you are an excellent team player.
Don't pigeonhole yourself
The global pandemic and digital technology have dramatically changed the way we work in just a few years. People's job descriptions look very different than they did five years ago. Many workers need to upgrade and reskill, including to stay in their current job.
For adaptable and resilient workers, developing new skills and learning about new technologies and work styles is seen as a necessary challenge or even a fun new adventure. A more stubborn employee is likely to spend more time panicking than learning and applying new methods.
Don't talk to your manager, customers and colleagues the same way
Many workplaces have become less formal and more egalitarian in recent decades. Today, the idea of addressing your boss as Sir or Madam seems pretty silly.
But don't let professionalism slip by addressing your company's CEO by his first name. The modern office requires employees to adapt to their audience.
When speaking to a CEO, you need to strike a professional tone and use language that shows you what's going on. When speaking to a client, you often need to strike an empathetic tone and use language without coming across as too confidential.
When speaking to your colleagues, you also need to demonstrate your adaptability. Some colleagues may like to talk casually about their personal lives, while others prefer to keep their professional and personal lives separate.
In today's evolving workplace, adaptability is a prized skill. Tools like IceHrm can support fostering a culture where flexibility and innovation thrive, ensuring sustainable organizational success.
