Study Finds Workers with High Resilience Are More Productive

JAKARTA — Worker productivity is determined not only by skills and experience, but also by the ability to cope with pressure and change. Zurich’s global study, The Resilient Workforce, found that 88% of workers with the highest levels of resilience reported good or very good performance. This was almost twice the 44% recorded among those with the lowest resilience levels.

The study also found that the relationship between resilience and work performance was stronger than the link with income. Workers’ resilience is influenced by a range of interconnected factors, including physical and mental health, social relationships, financial security and the ability to adapt to digital technology.

Edhi Tjahja Negara, Country Manager of Zurich Indonesia and President Director of PT Zurich Asuransi Indonesia Tbk, said companies needed to factor employees’ health and resilience into their business strategies. Today’s workplace challenges involve not only business risks, but also the ability to protect the workforce’s health and productivity.

Edhi said demand for workforce protection continued to evolve amid increasingly complex business risks and the challenge of maintaining employee health. In his view, worker resilience should be treated as part of a long-term business strategy.

“Building workforce resilience is therefore no longer merely a human resources initiative, but part of a long-term business strategy,” Edhi said in a statement on Wednesday (4 November 2026).

Professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve of the University of Oxford, who helped develop the study with Zurich, said employee wellbeing was closely linked to productivity. Support for physical, psychological, social, financial and digital health could help workers navigate changes in the workplace.

Jan-Emmanuel said productivity had often been associated with skills, experience and incentives. However, the findings showed that workers with greater resilience tended to perform better because they were more prepared to face change.

“When people have adequate support to protect their physical, psychological, social, financial and digital health, they tend to be better prepared for change and able to contribute more to their organisations,” Jan-Emmanuel said.

Long-term health also affects workforce resilience. The growing number of people living with chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, could affect productivity while increasing healthcare costs for individuals and companies.

Tjandra Yoga Aditama, Director of the YARSI University Postgraduate School and Professor of Pulmonology and Respiratory Medicine at the University of Indonesia’s Faculty of Medicine, said resilience needed to be built through healthy habits before people became ill.

Tjandra recommended the CERDIK approach: regular health checks; avoiding cigarette smoke; regular physical activity; a healthy diet with balanced calories; adequate rest; and stress management. He said these habits needed to be supported by health literacy, a conducive environment and access to quality healthcare.

“Resilience needs to be built through awareness of the importance of maintaining health, not only when someone is ill but also while they are still healthy,” Tjandra said.

Mental health also affects workers’ ability to maintain productivity. Halodoc CEO and co-founder Jonathan Sudharta said consultations relating to anxiety disorders on the platform rose 47.2% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier.

Jonathan said unmanaged psychological pressure could affect physical health. People therefore needed to recognise their own health conditions and seek professional help when necessary.

“Mental health is closely linked to physical health; psychological pressure that is not properly managed can have tangible effects on the body,” Jonathan said.

The findings were among the topics discussed at an event marking Zurich Indonesia’s 35th anniversary. On the same occasion, the company introduced the 2026 Employee Wellbeing Awards to recognise companies with practices that support employees’ physical, mental, social and financial health.

The link between health and performance is making employee wellbeing programmes increasingly relevant to human resources management. The challenge is to ensure that such programmes do not remain an additional perk, but are embedded in workplace policies, access to healthcare and an environment that supports workforce resilience.