Are you feeling lost at work? Do you find yourself staring into space, struggling to concentrate? Do you see your work as mindless drudgery and find it hard to conceive of a future continuing your career like this? You’re not alone, especially after the unique stresses the coronavirus pandemic has thrown at us.
But it is important for you not to feel alone, and these tips may help you rediscover your purpose in the workplace.
Task Management and Productivity
This might ring especially true for people who chose to work in a career they thought they’d enjoy but found themselves bored quickly.
If you’re in a situation where your work is repetitive and dull, take some time to engage with your tasks and how they are managed. Your energy might be getting spent in the wrong place.
Are there any ways you can optimise the way you work, so you spend less time overall on the things affecting your relationship with work? Treating your workload – and the act of optimising it – like a puzzle to be solved can give you purpose in the short term while solving your drudgery woes in the long term.
Realise Your Place in the Company
Take a second to think about the company’s staff structure – the volume of people at the company and their job roles. Imagine the flow of work and how each person contributes to a finished project. It’s easy to forget that you are just as important a component to this image as anyone you have just imagined.
Place yourself in that mental diagram and try not to lose sight of your place in the organisation. As boring as you might sometimes find your work, it is nonetheless a crucial piece of the puzzle – and so are you.
Choose an Inclusive Employer
More often than you might think, the issue is not necessarily with your mindset. It might be that previous companies you’ve worked for haven’t had your best interests at heart – or the correct initiatives in place to track employee contentment, for that matter.
Poster specialists instantprint held a survey on employee contentment, with the results used to pinpoint some key ways to improve morale and decrease toxic behaviors in employees. These included such support initiatives as monthly one-on-ones to check in with individual workers, training opportunities for groups, and inclusive events to promote workforce cohesion.
If your company doesn’t offer these, it may be that a new employer might solve your search for meaning.
Offer a Helping Hand to Your Colleagues
If you’re feeling adrift at your place of work, you might not be alone. Reach out to your co-workers and make sure they aren’t feeling similarly.
If they are, it might be helpful to create a support network with them. Share your concerns and issues with your workload, and together you might be able to talk each other into finding your purpose.
