Employee disengagement is a cause of concern not only for the organizations but for the employees as well. Study shows that higher employee engagement tends to have a positive impact on several business goals such as employees’ productivity, team efficiency, profitability through higher customer satisfaction, and so on. Hence, companies have been working towards improving their employees’ engagement through various measures.
However, it is only you who can decide what it is that keeps you motivated. As per a survey, only 20% employees are satisfied with their jobs. This data also highlights the need for employees to be more engaged with their job, since job engagement and job satisfaction have a direct correlation.
So if you are also dealing with disengagement at work, here are a few things that you can do to counter it.
analyse the cause of your disengagement
First and foremost, you need to find out the reason that is keeping you from being engaged with your work. You need to identify if this feeling has persisted for quite some time or if it is a recent one. Research shows that employees tend to have a “honeymoon effect” in their jobs where they are highly motivated at the beginning of a new job only to experience this enthusiasm wither with time. Once you are able to trace the start of the issue, focus on finding its source. You are likely to find the answer somewhere in the nature of your job or your work environment or your life beyond work. Zeroing down on one or more of these areas will help you find the exact reason of your disengagement and also tackle it.
check if your job is aligned with your personal goals
You need to identify if you have been able to find the right person-job fit in your current role. This is perhaps the most important step for improving your job engagement. You cannot be inspired to give your best in your job if it is not aligned with what you wish to achieve personally. Your talent, skills, values, and interests need to be catered by the place where you are spending a larger portion of your day. Figure out the main purpose of this job for you, is it financial stability, career development, camaraderie with your colleagues, a frequent sense of achievement or more? It could be just one or a combination of more such factors. If you are able to design your job role in a way that it aligns with your life goals, then the chances of you achieving higher engagement at work are way higher. According to a research conducted on creating positive meaning and identity at work, people who craft their job roles based on what inspires them experience higher engagement at their workplace.
communicate with your manager
According to a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) study, 48% employees voted communication between employees and senior management as a very important factor of job satisfaction. One person who is most likely to affect your job satisfaction and engagement at work is your boss. If you come to realise that your issue of disengagement at work cannot be solved at the personal level, then perhaps it is time that you communicate openly with your manager. If you think that a change in your current role or responsibilities can help you improve your engagement, then talking to your manager is probably the only way out. It is also important that your manager has the knowledge of your state of mind in this regard as it is directly related to your individual performance. While your manager might not be able to fully solve the issue, he or she can definitely have a big impact on the nature of your daily work.
Remember that while it is upto you to identify the cause of your lack of engagement at work, the solutions might lie outside of you. You need to be open to try new things, accept new challenges, and seek guidance when solutions do not seem to appear. Keep your eyes on your larger goals and try to find ways in which your job can help you achieve them.