Background & Purpose: Facing complex and multidimensional crises has made employee resilience one of the essential prerequisites for effective organizational performance. In crisis situations, employees’ ability to maintain performance and adapt to changing conditions is influenced by various factors. Therefore, enhancing employee resilience requires a systematic and policy-oriented approach. Accordingly, the present study was conducted with the aim of designing a policy framework for enhancing employee resilience in facing crises.
Methodology: This applied study employed a qualitative approach using thematic analysis. The research population consisted of academic and executive experts with relevant knowledge and experience in crisis management, human resource management, policymaking, and employee resilience. Participants were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The analysis process involved extracting basic themes, organizing and aggregating them into organizing and overarching themes, and examining the conceptual coherence of the identified themes.
Findings: The findings resulted in the identification of three overarching themes, nine organizing themes, and 36 basic themes. The first overarching theme, Individual and Professional Capacity Building of Employees, comprised three organizing themes: employee empowerment and professional preparedness, employee psychological health and individual resilience, and social and family support for employees. The second overarching theme, Building Resilience in the Work Environment and Organization, included three organizing themes: flexibility and work reconfiguration during crises, supportive crisis leadership and governance, and organizational communication, participation, and trust. The third overarching theme, Institutional Support and Policy Learning for Resilience, consisted of three organizing themes: provision of crisis-related resources, human resources, and infrastructure; employee safety, protection, and service continuity; and learning, evaluation, and readjustment of resilience policies. Overall, the findings indicated that policymaking for enhancing employee resilience should simultaneously address individual capacities, the work environment and organization, institutional capacities, and policy learning.
Conclusion: The proposed policy framework emphasizes the need to shift from a reactive and individual-centered approach toward a proactive approach. Policymakers and managers should simultaneously focus on employee preparedness and empowerment, psychological and social support, organizational work flexibility, leadership, resource provision, employee protection and continuity of services, as well as organizational learning.