The risk of the redundancy of resilience
The future of the Australian wine industry lies with its people and their resilience in the face of significant adversity, argues Evans + Ayers director Marc Allgrove.
I often muse about society’s destiny as I drive along country roads, vacillating from today’s tasks to the plight of humanity; illuminated by memories, observations and thoughts.
Most recently making my way to a local country football game my mind took me from the plight of Australia’s wine industry to a Year 6 Sports Day. I pondered; are the lessons being taught on that sports track, and at all levels of education and life, preparing children for the challenges that lie ahead?
Will the colourful ribbon given to the child stumbling last over the finishing line instil in them the inner understanding, strength and acceptance to appreciate and cope with the realities of life? Or will it be another missed lesson in handling disappointment, ultimately leading to entitlement and expectation?
I am concerned that society is increasingly focused on ensuring gain over understanding pain, provision over empowerment, and in turn giving rise to pervasive dependency.
Numbers are meant not to lie.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports that 22 per cent of Australians aged 16-85 suffer from mental illness, whilst in adolescents (4-17 years) it is one in seven. Recent reports from a tertiary accommodation organisation suggest the numbers are even higher especially amongst young adults, with nearly 30 per cent of the student body reporting issues ranging from anxiety, depression and eating disorders through to self-harm and even suicidal ideation.
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The adage “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is no longer accepted by schools, colleges, universities and workplaces. This leads to organisations making significant investments in wellbeing resources and programming. But what is the return? Are we more capable? More productive? Are we happier?
The shift in the focus of education from outcome to effort emanated from philosophical changes that began over a quarter of a century ago. A South Australian school principal says that this has led to an interpretation “that you’re worthy of praise if you try hard, even if you don’t get it right”.
They add that wellbeing is being weaponised in schools, with students accustomed to the “everyone wins a prize” approach, confusing disappointment related to not achieving or not attaining targeted levels with a threat to their wellbeing. In society, the impact of this perception is being exacerbated by a generation of parents who are the product of a system where you don’t lose.
The same principal surmises that this educational thinking means people are “not developing strategies to overcome setbacks or power through situations” independently.
Lacking resilience, they turn to and expect to find systems of support to provide the answers or manage the stress, which outside in the real world, are not necessarily available, leading to the increased mental health issues being recorded today.
Richard Barrett, the CEO of Industry Leaders Fund, points to Occam’s Razor principle: “If you have two competing ideas to explain the same phenomenon, you should prefer the simpler one.”
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He suggests that of the businesses aligned with his organisation and of which he has some visibility, those that have empowered staff, kept management simple and not added layers of support and complexity, have delivered the best results for the business and its employees, as measured by business success and staff retention.
Individual lessons learnt from failure, disappointment and pain can be very impactful, constructive and longer lasting than wellbeing learnings provided by institutions, programmes and support networks. This does not negate the contemporary acceptance that people should be open with the challenges they are facing and willing to demonstrate vulnerability. Rather, it reinforces the role of the individual and the concept of personal responsibility.
Wellbeing issues are impacting society and must be addressed. But for how long will we focus on treating the symptoms rather than addressing the cause?
The idea of resilience, its value and the risk of its redundancy is a developing narrative. The disappearance of resilience is reflected in the major investments that secondary and tertiary education institutions, governments and commercial corporations are making to address wellbeing.
Would the need for these investments be negated if the focus of contemporary educational thinking had not changed? By pursuing the “you don’t lose” approach are we disempowering individuals as we focus on accumulating knowledge rather than acquiring valuable life skills.
The South Australian principal says “a quarter of a century of talking about mental health and raising awareness of mental health means that young people in the workplace are tuned in to it. If they feel under the weather, tired, disconnected – these are all mental health concerns for them – they take days off. They can’t be blamed, they have been raised this way. Because a difficult situation presents, in their mind, a challenge to their mental health and that is precious, they avoid it and stay home.”
Fifth-generation Barossa grape grower Geoff Schrapel reflected on the challenges he has faced over the years, emphasising the importance of family and the structure and support it has provided him to get through difficult times. He notes the important functions of family in modern society are increasingly being outsourced or delegated to third-party providers rather than being reinforced.
Life is replete with challenges, and it is unrealistic to think they can be avoided or the managed by somebody else. Challenges must be confronted and individuals need the skills to do this. The development of these skills must start early in a supported environment, but one that reflects reality, rather than a cocooned interpretation of it.
The Australian wine industry is currently confronted with what is arguably the most difficult conditions it has faced since its inception. Major markets being closed, domestic markets constricted by a failing distribution system, a global anti-alcohol campaign, supply and demand imbalance, changing consumption demographics and continued environmental challenges from frosts to drought.
The future of the Australian wine industry lies with its people and their resilience in the face of significant adversity.
I hope the child with the ribbon on their chest has learnt the lessons and has a family to support them to develop the strength of character, resilience and skills required when confronted with life’s challenges, for they will be needed to cope when their key market disappears or when they are standing in their vineyard, the only moisture between the clear blue sky above and the dry dirt below is a lonely tear as they wait for “the roll of thunder and the smell of rain”.
Marc Allgrove is a Director in Evans + Ayers with significant experience in the tourism, wine and agriculture industries, along with the South Australian medical device cluster.
