Six ways to be happily engaged at work

It is crucial for organisations to comprehend challenges that keep the workforce from full-scale productivity

Rajeev Shroff
Updated: Feb 14, 2019 03:21:08 PM UTC
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Image: Shutterstock

In 2015, a report by Gallup Inc. gave an insight into the mindset of employees and their attitude towards work. The study stated that about 51 percent of workers were not engaged to their duty whereas 17.2 percent displayed active disengagement. This meant that only one third (about 32 percent) of the workforce saw their work as an enthusiastic endeavour and an opportunity to grow.

These figures suggest that a majority of employees remain dissatisfied with their work. One thing is certain; engagement works from both sides of the fence. Besides a conducive workplace environment, an organisation thrives only when its employees have the right notions about their duties.

There are no set rules when it comes to engaging yourself at work. No doubt, getting a job done is your number one priority. But what if you could adopt a mindset that helps you achieve your goals and simultaneously, gives you a sense of satisfaction? Here’s how you bring out the best in yourself and have a great time chasing those deadlines.

Find a motive
Our emotions have a profound influence on our point of view. If you are going through emotional turbulence, its effects hamper your actions. The far-reaching consequences ruin your entire day. There are times when we let emotions dictate our moves, often leading to unfavourable outcomes. However, sensitivity should be an advantage and not an impediment.

We are hardwired to indulge in activities that give us pleasure. On the contrary, we avoid situations that are unpleasant. A great way to leverage this is to find a motive that makes you excited about work. It could be in the form of initiating new projects, trying out new efficient ways of problem-solving, or the satisfaction of successfully completing a campaign.

Focus on growth
It is important that you see your work as a journey. You enter a world where everything is revealed to you as you go along the road. You face numerous pitfalls, challenges, learning curves that contribute to your success. In other words, you begin your journey lacking several qualities and along the way, you become equipped with the knowledge that adds to your competency.

A ‘growth-mindset’ is crucial in your journey as a professional and as an individual. The on-going process of self-discovery should keep your riveted to what you do.

Keep learning
When you are learning, you use all your attention and participate in the activity. Besides keeping you engaged, you can acquire new skills that give you a competitive edge. Scientific studies claim that individuals performing creativity-boosting activities show great results at work.

You can either write a poem, doodle, draw or paint or even learn to operate a new software. The objective is to keep unleashing your potential and use the knowledge to perform better.

Make a difference
No matter what you do, everything has got a purpose. The best way to realise your purpose is to think from the perspective of the consumer. Realise how your work is making a difference in peoples’ lives. Your product maybe solving the problems of millions of customers or your solutions could be changing the way we live.

You can either look at your work as an ordinary task with no value or, on the contrary, as something that makes a dent in this world. The choice rests with you.

Have clear goals
It is important to have a plan when it comes to achieving targets. With specified short-term and long-term goals, employees can focus on their targets and use their resources to attain them. The satisfaction after acquiring the low-hanging fruit can then be used to fuel the desire for chasing a long-term vision.

Engaged employees realise that the path to success is full of failures. They use disappointments and impediments to their advantage and emerge as winners. The expectations of a challenging adventure should be enough to keep employees involved.

Take breaks
One of the reasons for disengagement can be ‘burn-out’. When employees don’t get enough rest, it starts affecting their productivity. Employees, who have over-worked themselves, fail to deliver quality work and this leads to discontentment. Eventually, these conditions diminish employees’ enthusiasm and commitment.

What you can do is give yourself ample time to recover from fatigue. Be it a long vacation, a weekend or an hour’s break, ‘switching-off’ from work can recharge your batteries and get those creative juices flowing.

Over the years, organisations have recognised the correlation between happiness and productivity. The idea is to empower the workforce in achieving their professional and personal goals. This helps them attain the much-required work-life balance. Also, it is crucial for organisations to comprehend challenges that keep the workforce from active engagement.

The author is a Transformation Coach & Consultant and the founder of Cupela.

The thoughts and opinions shared here are of the author.

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