Illinois Bell TelephoneCompany

And when I listened to his story, I identified four critical aspects of resilience that showed up that I want to identify here.

Three of which are aligned with Kabasa and Maddy's research going back to the early 1980s at Illinois Bell when that organization was going through crisis.

Tremendous change and adversity, and two-thirds of the workforce were going through what we would recognize now as mental health issues and severe burnout.

But a third of the people working within the very same situation they weren't only just getting by without the intense level of burnout or mental health issues, they were particularly thriving.

Charlie Plum cited that there was a sense of control, connection, challenge, and commitment that helped him not only endure, but find fulfillment and reward after the fact.

not just in spite of, but maybe because of his time in captivity.

Cabasa and Maddie, what they found, I'm sure connection was part of it, but they cited control, challenge, and commitment as what caused a third of the people working at Illinois Bell to thrive.

So again, control is I choose my next meaningful action.

... 33 years-

The old Illinois Bell-

Exactly

... whatever it was called at the time.

Around those tables, oh God, those words just slip right out of our mouths.

I can quote this book backwards and forwards, but can I live it out there, see, on the job? When one of them damn Chicago Pakistani cab drivers gets in front of me, do I practice the programs or do I shoot him a bird? When Illinois Bell shuts my telephone off because the woman next door who has one digit off didn't pay her bill, you know, and I call up and say, darling, I think you made a mistake.

How loving am I? What am I practicing the program then, you know? So Katie, so these three types of programs.

The first one I would sit back and I looked at you and there was the kiss people.

This is a major leap.

Hey, listen, Illinois Bell probably had to add something to my bill as much.

All right, here we go.

They're first man up.

So let's take a closer look at the other three cases: Mary McFarland, Mary Reiner, and Paula Prince.

Mary McFarland was working at an Illinois Bell store in Elmhurst.

It was late in the day and Mary was battling a nagging headache.

Like most people, she turned to something familiar, Extra Strength Tylenol.