Adversity Quotient refers to the ability to face frustration, overcome difficulties and deal with predicaments. It is an effective way to measure emotional resilience.

A recent article in People's Daily, one of China's official mouthpieces, has discussed the adversity quotient of officials, especially younger ones, and it criticizes some officials for failing to tackle obstacles and emergencies well.

Many government officials and civil servants nowadays have good educational backgrounds, but lack practical experience. Their intelligence quotient is always high but their adversity quotient is comparatively low. What they have learned from textbooks helps them deal with routine work smoothly, but they lack the ability to cope with crises and complicated issues. Many of them haven't shouldered any real responsibility, not to mention faced any serious tests. Some young officials speak like experts, but they panic when faced with an emergency or serious incident, and they do little to solve the problems they encounter.

Young officials can only achieve remarkable progress when they face great challenges at work. Officials need to be aware of their inability to respond to obstacles, and accept ways to improve themselves. This requires the authorities to pay more attention to train officials to handle different situations effectively.