Signs that you’re disengaged from work and how to reignite your passion
Episode 370 | Author: Emilie Aries It feels like everyone’s been talking about “quiet quitting” and completely checking out at work these days, but what if you’ve already found your calling?
There hasn’t been a lot of conversation about those of us who love our work (or at least remember loving it at some point), yet find ourselves struggling with feeling unmotivated and disengaged.
Employee engagement is all the rage these days, but what does that actually mean? In Q1 this year, Gallup surveyed 14,705 US employees, both full-time and part-time, and found that the US workforce, in particular, has continued to experience disengagement. Gallup’s findings state:
“The survey measures several workplace elements, including employees’ level of agreement about clarity of expectations, opportunities for development, and their opinions at work. In short, engaged employees are involved in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace. Actively disengaged employees are disgruntled and disloyal because most of their workplace needs are unmet.”
A lot of engagement surveys are trying to pinpoint if people are pulling in the same direction and if people are feeling fulfilled at work. The question becomes whether or not people feel like their work matters. When the answer to that question is no, it becomes harder to care.
And to be clear, that's different from feeling depressed or chronically anxious. So if you're struggling with things like anxiety disorders, or ADHD, or depression, that is characterized as much more significant than just what's happening at work, which might warrant a conversation with your therapist or your doctor.
With all of that being said, if what you're actually dealing with is disengagement from the work, the work you used to feel really excited about, then what you might be navigating is something more like burnout and feeling less connected to the work that you're doing every day.
Here's what I would recommend doing about it:
Take Charge
First and foremost, take some charge. Take responsibility and take charge of turning things around, because you have more power than you think. How do we do that if we're feeling disengaged? Check if you just need some time off.
When's the last time you took a day off?
If you haven't used more than half of your PTO and you're not saving it for some super special extravaganza in Q4, check yourself. Do you just need a day off? Do you need a full week off? It’s possible that what you're navigating simply requires pumping the brakes. Remember PTO is there for a reason.
I wish I could say that every worker in the United States has paid time off, but we don't live in that world. If you’re fortunate enough to be among the workers who do have paid time off or who have flexibility to take time off, even if it is unpaid, make that a priority because we are not designed to work all the time.
Work is important. I love my work, I care about my work, but there is so much more to me than my work and there's so much more to you than your work alone.
2. NAME THE FEELING TO TAME THE FEELING
The second thing I recommend is naming the feeling to tame the feeling. It’s difficult to make any progress on feelings of disengagement and burnout unless you actually know what it is that you're feeling.
What is it that's bogging you down? Talk it through with a trusted professional like a therapist, coach, or a friend.
Ask yourself what parts of your career and job leave you feeling frustrated. What parts leave you feeling like the work you do doesn't matter? What actions, meetings, or people leave you feeling that way when you audit your workplace?
If you're on the other side of the spectrum, you're probably laughing to yourself saying you’d rather be under-worked than over-worked.
Do you have way too much on your plate? Do you have multiple stakeholders who you're constantly trying to keep happy only to disappoint everyone all the time? Do you feel like you're not great because you're rushing from thing to thing, so nothing is getting your full attention? That’s a sign that things need to be reprioritized and talked about.
So many of us refuse to utter the words, “I'm feeling disengaged,” or ”I'm feeling burnt out,” because we feel like it's a personal failure and some dirty little secret that we have to hide from our colleagues, our loved ones, or our manager.
Whether it's your boss, or a trusted ally at work, or even a loved one at home, you're a social creature. We're all social creatures. We have to be willing and able to talk this stuff through with someone who can help us see the options before us.
This isn’t one of those times when you need to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. This is a time to reach out early and often.
I'm always surprised when I'm coaching our Level Up leaders in our leadership accelerator. As a coach, my job is to ask probing questions and I'm amazed at how fast these folks find their way to solutions - or at least clarify what they need to do to feel more engaged at work.
3. SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE
I think disengagement at work has to do with getting bogged down in the details, instead of the reason you joined this organization to begin with.
We're lucky at Bossed Up because the work we do feels very impactful. We're helping women and other folks who are on the sidelines, in so many ways, advocate for themselves.
But I'll confess. Even our work can become monotonous at times. Recording podcasts on the regular, editing show notes, being detail oriented around keeping track of leads in Salesforce, or auditing our curriculum, can get us bogged down, too.
The bottom line is: even if you're lucky enough to have a social mission that you care about, it’s easy to feel detached and disengaged at times.
My advice to you is to ask yourself: why did I say yes to this opportunity to begin with?
If the answer is a paycheck, then I understand why you might be disengaged. Money can only make you happy for so long, or the promise of a promotion can only keep you hanging on for so long.
Whatever got you into the organization, reconnect with that bigger picture. Maybe that means catching up with direct clients you've served in the past to see the impact of your work. Or maybe it’s reconnecting with your colleagues and the overall organizational mission.
4. IDENTIFY A THEORY OF CHANGE
One of the themes that I always come back to with the women I work with at Bossed Up, is to clarify your theory of change. A theory of change, is a term that comes from movement-building work. This goes way back to the start in my career, where I was an organizer and a campaigner.
We talked a lot about the theory of change, because when you're running a campaign, you're essentially pursuing change in some capacity. Saying, “I believe if I help elect this person, this outcome will happen.”
Think about your theory of change and determine the things you need to see in order to change your situation. If your theory of change is that you believe you’ll get unstuck by being promoted, think about what work you need to do to build towards that.
I know it’s hard to build up the energy to do all of that when you're feeling disengaged, but if you take it step by step, piece by piece, odds are you're gonna get the clarification you need to feel like you have the agency and control that you need to feel like you're in the driver's seat of your career - and hopefully the rest of your life, too.
It’s important to care about the work that you do and trust me, it’s possible to look forward to Mondays again! Follow my Boss Tips to feel excited about work - or at least identify what’s holding you back from loving your job.
Got a career conundrum you want us to cover on the podcast? Call and leave us a voicemail NOW at 910-668-BOSS(2677).
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