You know the feeling. You drag your feet. You procrastinate until the last moment. Every little move seems to be draining your energy. Your efficiency at work even remote work is minimal. You say to yourself: “oh, it’s Monday blues”, “I didn’t get enough sleep” or “ I don’t like doing admin( what ever it is you don’t like doing at that time)”. But you know deep down inside that it’s more than “ just having a bad day”.
Sure thing, one year into pandemic, everyone is sick and tired of working from home ( naturally those of us who are) and most people are curious to keep the best from both office and remote work options, a sort of a hybrid thing. But, motivation or lack of thereof is rarely only about the company itself, but rather about what makes you tick, the purpose of the job, level of allowed creativity, acceptance of your work and alignment with who you really are ( and that doesn’t mean the sum of your competencies on your CV :-).
There are so many articles out there offering quick fixes, but they rarely address the fundamental and core issues. Some are unmotivated because of their relationship with co-workers or superiors, others because of the purpose of their job. And make no mistake, you can work for a corporate company and if this work makes a perfect sense to you, is aligned with your life purpose and your values, you are unlikely to suffer major motivation slump( unless of course 1 year WFH fatigue). On the other hand, you can be working for a charity organisation with a great cause but if your job is not well designed, you are not allowed to be creative in it and you are not given the opportunity to lead in the way that is authentic to you, it’ s a recipe for disaster.
What has been a turning point in my life was when I started asking myself the 4 questions below. I also used to come back from work at 7 p.m. completely drained and not knowing where did the day go and what was the deeper sense of my work. If you are struggling with your motivation, these questions might give you some hints:
- Are all my core values being respected? If not, which ones are under attack? ( In my case, it was respect, creativity and freedom)
- Does my superior truly have my back ?
- Can I be at least 70% creative?
- Are my results/ suggestions being accepted/ discussed/ implemented/valued ? ( In other words are my unique contributions being used ?)
Bonus questions: Can I really be who I really am?
Is my work aligned with my life purpose/mission?
If you answered at least 3 strong YESes, chances are your motivation is still alive, maybe you need to perk it up a bit and adjust a few things. If you had 2 or more NOs, you need to investigate a little deeper.
A few additional questions that might guide you further:
- How do feel after dealing with your direct superior?
- Does the structure of the organisation/company allow you to be heard and access all parts of it? ( as an example, if the structure is deeply pyramidal chances are you are at the mercy of the top echelon, who decided whether and to which extent they listen to your suggestions or grievances)
Naturally, motivation is little more complex than answering a few questions, but it is a first important step. If you feel stuck and would like explore how to revive your motivation, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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