In terms of a growing number of natural disasters, falling airplanes, and other negative events, the issue of resilience becomes more and more important. It was useful to learn about the progress of research on work-life and work-family interconnections in the context of resilience. Chapter 8 allowed understanding that this area of research is extensively developing, and it is still not fully clear how values, roles, relationships, and cultural differences impact resilience abilities. However, it is evident that work-family communication transforms a person’s routine by changing his or her approaches to stressful and traumatic events.
The recent research by Turner and West used Buzzanell’s meta-theoretical overview and found that the families that have sufficient internal assets are more likely to withstand negative events (Buzzanell and Shenoy-Packer 140). For example, they memorize difficult times that occurred with them in the past, and the sense of integrity helps them in overcoming current challenges. It is interesting that not only family resources, but also those of a community the person belongs to can be beneficial. It is also noteworthy that when a family’s assets become insufficient to cope with problems, overhauls may occur. However, these overhauls may also evoke improvements in family relationships since common grief or life-threatening situations strengthen their capacity for resilience. As a result, such families develop the so-called homeostatic balance that implies increasing capabilities, decreasing demands, and adjusting the meanings of stressful events.
These observations relate to my experience, namely, relationships in my large family. Even though my family members live in different places, which makes it impossible to meet frequently, our ties are strong. For example, when my uncle was diagnosed with cancer and died after six months, the whole family cooperated to live through it. Our grandparents told the younger generations that it is a crisis, but we can overcome it by supporting each other. It should be pointed out that they shared their vision of life and death, referring to God and virtues that should be followed. The positive role of the church and faith was one of the arguments they used. Personally, I felt that our family has a powerful resource to cope with stress and that I should continue this balance to translate it to my children in the future.
Another idea that I would like to mention is that resilience is never complete. Likewise a professional career, resilience should be developed across one’s lifespan to ensure that the necessary assets and capabilities are accumulated. Buzzanell and Shenoy-Packer state that communication and work-life concerns change, which impacts the extent of resilience (146). In my point of view, this idea is correct since overcoming difficulties significantly depends on a range of contextual factors. Therefore, I hope to become aware of the changing obstacles that may impact my family’s coping abilities. For example, I have learned that family values should be used to build effective and open communication across generations. It is important to promote the co-production of flexibility and maintain a work-life and work-family balance. Accordingly, I am enthusiastic about constructing specific rituals and stories that can be told to others to show support and care for each other. Thus, I will contribute to protecting my family from stressful events by ensuring that we interact as an integral system.
Work Cited
Buzzanell, Patrice M., and Suchitra Shenoy-Packer. “Resilience, Work, and Family Communication Across the Lifespan.” Communicating Hope and Resilience Across the Lifespan, edited by Gary A. Beck and Thomas J. Socha. Peter Lang, 2014, pp. 138-155.