How to Deal With Unexpected Adversity at Work: Tips For Baby Boomers and Seniors

Dealing with unexpected adversity at work is a challenge that everyone, including baby boomers and seniors, has to face, at one time or another. The problem becomes that of how to deal with it.  

Disraeli stated, “There is no education like adversity.” 

What is adversity?

Dictionary.com suggests that the word adverse refers to “fortune or fate; a condition marked by misfortune, calamity, or distress” or “an adverse or unfortunate event or circumstance.”  

Unexpected adversity in the work place often causes severe distress to both employers and employees. Perhaps the real key to dealing with adversity lies in their attitude towards it, individually and collectively. 

Arthur Golden, in “Memoirs of a Geisha” wrote, “Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.”

In their mind’s eye, employers and employers build self-images related to their work, jobs or places of employment. When they have to deal with unexpected adversity, it makes them stop and think twice. Suddenly, they have to deal with the reality of the work place and see themselves and others, as well as other problematic aspects of their work, as they really are.  

Sometimes, employers and employees see themselves as being irreplaceable at work, when in reality their jobs can disappear overnight. No one is irreplaceable, particularly when there are problems on the job. Problems can arise in every place of employment, often when least expected. When problems cannot be resolved, adversity may lead to dismissal.    

The question becomes how to avoid problems at work, but is that the best way to deal with unexpected adversity at work?

Theodore Rubin wrote, “The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.”

Having problems at work, places both of the employer and the employee in a position where adversity, conflict and confrontation require appropriate resolution. Employers and employees can be part of the problem or proactive in terms of appropriate problem resolution.

Establishing effective communication channels is one way to deal with the majority of problems that result with respect to unexpected adversity at work. Problem solving presents an employment challenge regardless of one’s work. As problems are resolved, the employer-employee relationship improves and the intensity of the adversity decreases.

Disraeli was correct about the relationship between education and adversity. Each individual crisis that involves unexpected adversity at work presents an educational opportunity for employers and employees, as well as a potential learning-teaching experience. In this sense, one must argue that unexpected adversity can be a good thing, depending upon one’s perception of it.