Grit isn’t about toughness or pushing harder. It’s about designing work in a way that supports sustainable performance and long-term resilience. By helping organisations normalise discomfort and reframe success, HR can protect wellbeing while building resilience.

Resilience and grit are often spoken about as though they are individual traits – things you either have or you don’t.

My experiences have told me otherwise. Growing up in unsafe environments, moving through foster care and experiencing instability, I learned that grit is not solely innate. It’s something that can be nurtured with the help of others.

For me, grit came from the kindness of strangers who believed in me before I could believe in myself. In the workplace, the same principle holds true. People don’t always arrive on the job with grit, but leaders, teams and systems can help them find and hone it. 

At a time when workplaces are dealing with constant disruption, uncertainty and financial strain, grit matters now more than ever. And HR plays a key role in creating the conditions where grit can flourish. 

What grit at work really means 

In the workplace, grit is often spoken about as toughness or endurance. But to me, it’s about holding the truth of reality – not just the comfortable parts, but the whole picture. 

Thinking back, I once worked with a leadership group of 11 people who were embarking on a major global merger. One member strongly disagreed with the direction being taken. Rather than pushing back or silencing him, we acknowledged his perspective as valid and asked whether he was willing to align with the group decision, even if he didn’t agree. 

He got on board with the plan, the strategy went ahead, and the outcome proved successful. He was gracious in his opinions, and flexible with the outcome playing out differently to what he expected. That is grit in practice – not false harmony, but alignment despite discomfort.

Part of the challenge in fostering grit is overcoming our natural reluctance to deal with friction. 

In many cultures, we reward self-sufficiency and independence. While these qualities are undeniably valuable, prioritising them at all costs often results in workplaces where people feel pressure to know all the answers, sideline their emotions and present a brave face. 

We end up with a skewed view of what “good” looks like, which is at odds with our biology and psychology.

Instead, leaders need to come together with their people to acknowledge discomfort and find ways to make it constructive.

Coaching teams to cultivate grit 

Cultivating grit requires more than individual effort – it requires systems and measures that support people to be fully human at work.

One example is rethinking metrics of success. Organisations that measure success purely through profit and static performance targets risk overlooking the human factors that sustain performance.

There needs to be a change in how success is measured – a shift that recognises people need space, time, emotional regulation and creative capacity to be fully human at work.

HR has the influence to help leaders reframe what success looks like, moving the conversation away from short-term returns and towards sustainable impact. 

For example, instead of measuring success only by quarterly profit, HR can highlight the long-term cost of high turnover and position retention, engagement and capability-building as equally critical metrics.

This might even mean supporting executives to consider a smaller financial return in the immediate term to build the organisational capacity needed for resilience and sustainable growth.

“Pressure without purpose only creates exhaustion, while pressure with clarity and an end point creates commitment.”

One of the most useful questions leaders can ask themselves, and that HR can encourage them to sit with, is: “To what end?” If the end goal is purely profit, the organisation might achieve short-term gains but will struggle to build long-term commitment and resilience.

But if the end goal is contribution – to customers, communities, employees and the wider system – then grit stops being about trying to push through a solitary struggle and becomes a shared capability required to meet organisational goals. 

When employees feel their work connects to a bigger purpose, that aligns with their own sense of self and life goals, they are far more willing to face discomfort together.

HR can help leaders embrace this mindset by influencing them to see beyond balance sheets and into the social and human impact of their choices. That requires HR to embrace its role not just as an operational function, but as a partner and influencer. 

Balancing grit and wellbeing

Importantly, encouraging grit doesn’t mean pushing people beyond their limits, which will inevitably lead to burnout, disengagement and, potentially, legal or reputational risks. 

Instead, it means coaching employees to stretch into discomfort with the right boundaries and support in place. 

I saw this balance firsthand when I worked with an organisation responding to a natural disaster. 

Employees worked extraordinary hours for months on end, yet the period was marked by the lowest attrition and the highest engagement scores the company had ever seen. Why? Because the leaders set clear expectations, removed unnecessary obstacles and stayed visible and supportive throughout. 

There was a bigger perspective at play. The experience contributed to a sense of belonging and usefulness. 

The difference was clarity, purpose and a clear timeframe. People knew why the work mattered, how long the pressure would last and what support was in place. Grit, in that context, was energising rather than draining.

To help replicate that balance day to day, HR should coach leaders to: 

• Frame the challenge clearly. Consider what’s at stake. Why does it matter?
• Set boundaries. How long will the pressure last, and what are the non-negotiables around rest or wellbeing?
• Encourage reflection. What did the individual or team learn from working through the challenge? How might that resilience transfer to future situations?
• Model support. How are leaders showing that they are in it alongside their people, not simply directing from the sidelines?
• Recognise grit, not just results. Celebrate when people stay engaged through friction, adapt to challenges and align despite discomfort.

Pressure without purpose only creates exhaustion, while pressure with clarity and an end point creates commitment.

When employers set those boundaries and communicate them honestly, grit becomes a renewable resource that allows people and organisations to belong in a healthy ecosystem and create a worthy experience of work. 

Suzanne Rosa M.A., FAIM, MLP, PCC is a Sydney-based behaviouralist, coach and curator. She’s an active ambassador for R U OK?, Nakuru Hope, the founder of 5 Women and a former curator of TEDx. Fairness drives her, creativity and love sustain her. A twice published author, Suzanne has also been nominated for Australian of the Year for her leadership in community work.

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