If the prospect of coming to work the next day is bleak, don’t jump straight to the conclusion that it’s time to find a new job. These are five ways to reignite a dimming flame before breaking up with your job.
Realign Daily Tasks to Bigger Goals
Look at current projects, mountainous tasks or difficult deadlines, and outline how each will help achieve a professional or company-wide goal. Taking a step back from the day-to-day grind to identify what goal each to-do is associated with can drive purpose and fulfillment, helping to achieve reengagement.
Seek Management’s Feedback
If you’re feeling disengaged, your boss has likely have already noticed. Reflect on current work habits and projects, and outline what may be causing disengagement. Then discuss that list with your boss to get feedback. Don’t go into the meeting with just a list of frustrations. Bring proposed solutions, and then combine self-reflection with their feedback to help pinpoint the disconnect. A proactive approach to role rejuvenation may just be the needed spark.
Don’t Live for the Weekends
Those in the camp of TGIF are doing it wrong. Try to do something during the weeknights to break up the monotony of the week, because doing the exact same thing five days a week, year after year undoubtedly can lead to some variation of burnout and disengagement. Whether it’s going to the movies, spending time with friends, making dinner, going to a workout class, reading a can’t-put-down book, or doing whatever brings joy, find ways to shake up the week so you’re not living for the weekend. Also remember, work and play aren’t mutually exclusive. “Do what you love and call it work,” as Luke Bryan and Jordan Davis say it in their latest, “Buy Dirt,” for any country fans out there. If the role was once fun but no longer is, reflect and try to pinpoint when that changed, and think about how to add that back into the day-to-day.
Explore
When was the last time you “explored,” whether it was exploring a thought and researched a new topic, or literally explored the outdoors and went for a bike ride or walk? Creativity and curiosity can spark untapped passions, which can lead to feeling more invested and engaged in our day-to-day lives, bleeding into the work we produce.
Get to Know Peers
We’re not talking surface-level conversations, but spending time to get to know coworkers beyond, “How was your weekend?” Ask about their backgrounds, families, hobbies, about their friends and experiences growing up. Whether it’s an assist on a tight deadline or jumping in to help cover projects for an unexpected day off, building strong relationships, not only within the department but outside of the immediate team, can help build a sense of community and trust, which can help drive engagement.
If after the above attempts, you’re still in search of a new role, we can help. Take a look at the roles we’re recruiting for today.
