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Resilience in the workplace | Why it’s important

Resilience in the workplace | Why it’s important

by | Jul 4, 2025 | Employment and HR, Health and Wellbeing, News

Resilience in the workplace has become one of the most valuable traits an employee can possess, particularly in today’s fast-paced and ever-changing workplace environments. Resilience is the ability to recover from setbacks, adapt to change, and keep moving forward – all important qualities that can help you thrive in challenging situations, whether you’re on the front line or in the boardroom.

Resilience, however, is not something people are necessarily born with, it’s a skill that can be nurtured and developed. Resilience can vary from person to person but everyone has the capacity to become resilient, it’s something we can all learn, practice and develop over time. For organisations looking to thrive, investing in resilience training for your workforce can pay off in more ways than one.

What Is Workplace Resilience?

Workplace resilience is more than simply an ability to “bounce back.” It’s about cultivating a mindset, strategies, and habits that help employees handle pressure, manage change, recover from difficulties, and remain focused and productive when faced with challenges.

Whether it’s navigating organisational change, meeting tight deadlines, or dealing with unexpected obstacles, resilient employees are better equipped to stay motivated and maintain performance.

Barriers to Resilience

  • Negative thought patterns – persistent self-doubt, thinking everything will go wrong, or focusing on mistakes can trap you in a cycle of negativity.
  • Poor stress management – repeated or prolonged periods of stress without any healthy coping mechanisms can drain your mental and physical energy, making it harder to bounce back.
  • Perfectionism – always aiming for unrealistically high standards makes even small setbacks feel like major failures. This will eventually wear down your sense of achievement, and with it your resilience.
  • Unhealthy lifestyle habits – poor sleep, lack of exercise, and persistent unhealthy eating can reduce your physical and mental resilience.
  • Fear of failure – fear of making mistakes can lead to inaction or make you avoid challenges, which can prevent growth.
  • Inflexibility – difficulty adapting to change or being unable to consider alternative perspectives can stop you from problem-solving effectively.
  • Past Trauma or difficulties – past experiences of loss, failure or trauma can make it harder to cope with new challenges.

The Benefits of Building a Resilient Workforce

It’s very unlikely that anyone’s life passes without challenges or unwanted change. However, our levels of resilience will determine how well we will manage these challenges. With a resilient and positive mindset, we can learn to manage and withstand the challenges we face.

Resilience is a set of skills, behaviours and actions that can be learned and developed. The benefits of nurturing resilience in the workplace include:

Improved Employee Wellbeing

Resilience training can empower employees to handle stress more effectively, reducing the risk of burnout and absenteeism. A healthier workforce is not only happier but also more engaged and productive.

Enhanced Adaptability

The modern workplace demands flexibility. Resilient employees can adapt to new technologies, processes, and expectations, making them valuable assets.

Increased Team Dynamics

Resilience isn’t just an individual trait, it influences how teams collaborate and support one another. By fostering resilience, organisations can create a culture of trust and mutual respect.

Stronger Organisational Performance

A resilient workforce can manage tough times without losing momentum, helping businesses achieve long-term goals despite external pressures.

How Can Resilience Be Learned?

Building resilience doesn’t happen overnight, but it is achievable with the right guidance and tools. Practical strategies such as mindfulness, effective communication, and stress management techniques can make a real difference.

Many organisations are now using online training to provide their employees with the skills they need to develop resilience. Resilience Training offers a convenient and accessible way to introduce practical, research-backed methods that can be applied immediately.

Our course Building Resilience Online Training Course is suitable for all employees across all levels of an organisation, as well as individuals wanting to develop and grow their own personal resilience.

The course will explain what is meant by resilience and its importance in both professional and personal life, help you identify the common traits of resilient people, and teach you some practical techniques to help improve resilience in daily life.

Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act – Is Your Organisation Ready?

Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act – Is Your Organisation Ready?

by | Jul 2, 2025 | Corporate Governance

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act is set to bring significant change to how organisations across the UK manage fraud prevention, transparency, and corporate accountability. Coming into force in September 2025, this new legislation will impose tougher obligations on businesses of all sizes.

As a Digital Learning provider, we want to ensure your teams are not only aware of the changes but are also fully equipped to respond with the right Fraud Awareness and Prevention Training.

What is the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act?

Introduced as part of the UK government’s wider efforts to tackle economic crime, the Act is designed to:

  • Strengthen corporate transparency
  • Improve the accuracy of information held by Companies House
  • Clamp down on fraudulent activities
  • Introduce new offences and accountability for organisations that fail to prevent fraud

It builds on earlier legislation such as the Bribery Act (2010) and the Criminal Finances Act (2017), but goes much further in scope, including criminal liability for failing to prevent fraud by employees or associates.

Why is the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act Important?

In 2024, the National Crime Agency estimated that 3.4 million incidents of fraud were reported in England alone. According to the Annual Fraud Indicator (2023), workplace fraud costs the UK economy an estimated £219 billion every year. These figures highlight the scale and severity of economic crime, which can affect organisations of all sizes.

Fraud not only causes direct financial losses, but can also damage a company’s reputation, erode trust among stakeholders, and lead to regulatory penalties or legal action. It can also have a significant impact on employee morale, especially if the fraud is committed by a colleague, or goes undetected for long periods. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act aims to address these challenges by strengthening corporate accountability and making it harder for criminals to exploit UK businesses. For employers, understanding the risks and taking proactive steps to prevent fraud is more crucial than ever.

Who Needs to Comply with the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act?

Although the new offence of failure to prevent fraud will initially apply to large organisations, the overall reforms under the Act affect all businesses registered in the UK, including:

  • Financial institutions
  • Local councils and public sector bodies
  • Charities and not-for-profits
  • SMEs and larger corporate groups

Even if your organisation isn’t directly liable under the new offence, you could still be impacted via supply chains, partnerships, or customer due diligence requirements.

Key Provisions of the Act: What You Need to Know

Some of the most significant changes under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act include:

  • A new corporate offence: Companies can be prosecuted if they fail to prevent fraud committed by staff or associated persons.
  • Tighter identity verification: Directors, PSCs (Persons with Significant Control), and those filing documents at Companies House must verify their identity.
  • Increased powers for Companies House: To scrutinise and reject information that appears misleading or fraudulent.
  • Wider liability: Senior managers can be held individually accountable in certain circumstances.

The clear message is that organisations must take proactive steps to prevent economic crime or risk criminal sanctions.

Why Fraud Awareness and Prevention Training is Essential

With the clock ticking towards implementation in September 2025, now is the time to act. While updating systems and processes is essential, embedding a culture of awareness and compliance across your workforce is equally important.

Fraud Awareness and Prevention Training helps your employees to:

  • Recognise suspicious behaviour and red flags
  • Understand what constitutes fraud under the new Act
  • Know how to report concerns safely and effectively
  • Understand the legal and reputational risks of non-compliance
  • Play a proactive role in safeguarding your organisation

Training is one of the clearest ways to demonstrate that you’re taking “reasonable steps” to prevent fraud, which is a key defence under the new offence.

Fraud Awareness Online Learning

Our engaging, accessible Fraud Awareness and Prevention eLearning course is designed specifically for UK organisations, including public sector bodies and financial institutions. The course is:

  • Up to date with the latest legislation (including the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023)
  • Fully online and trackable for compliance purposes
  • Customisable to your internal policies and reporting structures
  • Suitable for all levels of staff, from frontline employees to senior management

By educating your teams now, you can build a solid line of defence and avoid costly consequences in the future.

Prepare Today for Compliance Tomorrow

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act marks a major shift in corporate accountability. With enforcement beginning imminently, the need for robust fraud prevention measures, including training, is more urgent than ever.

Don’t wait until the legislation comes into effect. Contact us today to learn how our fraud awareness and prevention training can help your organisation stay compliant, protect its reputation, and reduce risk.

Sexual Harassment Awareness Training – Why is it so important?

Sexual Harassment Awareness Training – Why is it so important?

by | Apr 4, 2025 | Employment and HR

Sexual Harassment At Work – A Serious Issue

Sexual harassment is a serious issue wherever it occurs. Here we look at how sexual harassment at work can have devastating effects on individuals and organisations alike. It creates a toxic work environment, damages employee wellbeing, and can result in legal and financial consequences for employers. Providing effective sexual harassment awareness training helps prevent misconduct, promotes a culture of respect, and ensures compliance with UK legislation, including the newly introduced Worker Protection Act 2023. This came into place in October 2024, and imposes a legal duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, shifting the focus from reactive measures to proactive prevention.

Identifying Sexual Harassment

Identifying sexual harassment is important in order to ensure that the matter is dealt with properly and the appropriate action is taken. It is important to understand that sexual harassment is defined as:

“Any form of unwanted verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that violates the dignity of a person or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment.”

Sexual Harassment can take many forms which are explained in the following sections.

Verbal Sexual Harassment

Verbal Sexual Harassment includes:

  • Making unwelcome sexual comments or innuendos
  • Asking about sexual fantasies, preferences, or history
  • Making sexual comments about a person’s appearance, body, or clothing
  • Repeatedly asking someone on a date despite them saying ‘no’
  • Spreading rumours about someone’s sex life

Non-Verbal Sexual Harassment

Non-Verbal Sexual Harassment includes:

  • Making sexual gestures or suggestive facial expressions
  • Following or stalking someone
  • Displaying explicit images or materials in the workplace
  • Obstructing someone’s path or deliberately entering their personal space

Physical Sexual Harassment

Physical Sexual Harassment includes but is not limited to:

  • Unwanted touching, hugging, or patting
  • Touching another person’s clothing, hair or body without their consent
  • Brushing against someone inappropriately
  • Physically blocking someone’s movement or making them feel unsafe due to your close proximity

These are only some of the examples of sexual harassment in the workplace, but there are more. If there is unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature, it’s not OK.

Workplace Banter OR Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment can occur in workplaces where there is a culture of jokes and banter so it’s important to recognise when that behaviour crosses the line into harassment. Even if someone does not outwardly object, it doesn’t mean they are comfortable with the behaviour. External pressures, such as fear of causing conflict, can prevent individuals from speaking up. When banter becomes harassment, the behaviour:

  • is of a sexual nature and
  • creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment and
  • is unwelcome or unwanted

Worker Protection Act (2023) |The Legal Landscape

Protection against workplace sexual harassment was strengthened in the UK, in October 2024, when the Worker Protection Act (2023), an amendment to the Equality Act 2010, came into place.

Under this new law, employers have a legal duty to take proactive and reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, rather than simply addressing incidents after they occur. This also includes harassment from third parties such as customers and clients.

Sexual Harassment | Employer Responsibilities

  • Identify risks of sexual harassment in the workplace
  • Implement reasonable measures to reduce these risks
  • Foster a workplace culture that prioritises respect and safety

Failure to comply can lead to serious legal and financial consequences, including liability for failing to protect employees from harassment.

Impact of Sexual Harassment on Employees and Businesses

Sexual harassment has far-reaching consequences beyond the immediate victim. It affects the entire organisation, leading to:

  • Mental health issues (stress, anxiety, PTSD, depression)
  • Physical health problems (hypertension, cardiovascular disease, chronic illnesses)
  • Decreased productivity and engagement
  • Higher employee turnover and absenteeism
  • Reputational damage and legal liability

Preventing Sexual Harassment at Work | Steps Employers Can Take

There are a number of steps that employers can take to prevent sexual harassment at work which we have listed below. Further information can be found at the Acas website under Sexual Harassment > Preventing Sexual Harassment.

Sexual Harassment Awareness – Provide Education and Training

Regular and comprehensive Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Awareness Training, ensures employees understand what constitutes sexual harassment, and how to prevent it.

Sexual Harassment Policy – Establish Clear Procedures

Ensure all employees are aware of, and understand the company’s sexual harassment policy, including reporting procedures and consequences.

Reporting Sexual Harassment at Work

TThe reporting of a possible case of sexual harassment at work can be difficult so it is important to create a safe and supportive environment where employees feel comfortable coming forward without fear of retaliation.

Responsible Persons | Take Action Against Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment must be dealt with properly and it is therefore vital that employers, the management team and responsible persons lead by example – they should ensure their own behaviour is always respectful, should be able to identify sexual harassment at work, understand what steps should be taken to address and eliminate it in the workplace and must take immediate action against harassment to demonstrate that misconduct will not be tolerated.

With the Worker Protection Act (2023) now in force, employers must be proactive in preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. Training employees, enforcing clear policies, and fostering a respectful work environment not only protects individuals but also strengthens your organisation as a whole. By prioritising prevention, businesses can ensure compliance, enhance workplace culture, and support employee wellbeing.

For more information on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Awareness Training, please give us a call on 01332 208500 or email hello@real-sense.com.