Which fits you?
- You loved your job when you first landed it, but now you’re bored;
- As your workload increased, you no longer have time to do many of the “extra” things you most enjoyed doing;
- A former supervisor or coworker moved on, and in her absence you realize talking with her was what made your job fun;
- You’ve fallen into a slump, but leaving your job isn’t an option.
If you find yourself dragging when you head into work, and want to motor out of the job rut you’ve fallen into, take these four steps.
Take action
You can’t sit back and hope a job slump walks away on its own. Making a plan to improve your job gives you both a document you can take to your boss and an action that on its own can revitalize your interest.
So, what new project or duty do you want to take on? In what area do you want more ownership? Or, is your plan simpler – to let your boss know you want more challenges? If nothing else, decide this week to clean or spruce up your office – which may catch your boss’ attention, and they might wonder what’s up.
Redesign your role
Part of planning includes redesigning your role. Can you mentor another employee in any area? Does your organization have a problem that you’d like to work on and fix? If so, can you ask your boss to assign you the project so you can work on it? Perhaps they can even let you take a class that will give you the skills you need to tackle the project for your company.
Rekindle
Remember when you first started your job, and saw possibilities everywhere? Have your own actions contributed to your slump? Are you now fixating on what you don’t like and forgetting the good parts? When you were last happy at work, what was it you liked? Perhaps it’s time to focus on what’s right and commit to rekindling that spark you used to bring to the workplace – and now need.
Are you spending too much time listening to others who fell into work slumps long ago? If so, select someone in your organization who is passionate about what they do. If you’ve not spent time with them lately, or ever, ask them to join you for lunch this week and find out if they’ve ever hit a rut and how they got back on the road. Perhaps the change you need starts with who you’re spending your time with.
Enlist your manager
Your manager can’t read your mind. Is she aware you want new challenges? Have you let her know what you’ve achieved in the past three months, so she can realize you’re ready for more? Does she have a project she wishes she could get to, that she could reassign to you, giving her relief, and you a chance to stretch and grow?
Is it time?
Finally, if these four steps don’t work, perhaps you need to realize a new truth – that what you want isn’t there for you in your current job and organization. If so, you have a new job, and that’s finding a new job.
© 2016, Lynne Curry, executive coach and author, Beating the Workplace Bully, 2015, AMACOM.