Checking in on checking out

Have you ever caught yourself staring off into space at work or scrolling endlessly through websites that you don’t really care about? Disengagement or burnout at work can result from chronic, unmanaged workplace stress, according to a new report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. When you are feeling checked out, you accomplish less and feel worse about your work, which can lead to a vicious cycle that is hard to break. So, what can you do to reengage yourself when you’re in this state?

Schedule purposeful interactions. Break the cycle of avoidance and withdrawal by forcing yourself to connect with others in a meaningful and positive way. Invite a colleague who has a complementary skill set to partner with you on a project. Or organize a problem-solving session with colleagues from several different departments. Inviting others to participate in the project can help you refocus on the work at hand.

Solicit input. Another way to reengage yourself is to borrow enthusiasm from coworkers. Solicit ideas and opinions on a project from others on your team or even from staff members across the company. They may help you see things in a new light and gain needed perspective. You could also reach out to a colleague at a different company and ask for their advice on how to approach a particular issue—leaving out the specifics if necessary. Or you could create a project timeline and ask a peer to review it for potential bottlenecks or dependencies.

Take a break. Sometimes, stepping away from your work can help you become more effective when you return. Instead of powering through and eating lunch at your desk every day, ask a colleague or two to join you to go out for a bite. Invite people you like and would enjoy getting to know better. Make sure to let them know there is no work agenda; you just want to take a break and grab lunch or coffee or maybe simply take a walk around the building. Getting outside and into nature can elevate your mood and energize you to tackle those tough tasks.

Create a community. If your work involves spending most of your workday alone, rarely talking to anyone, you may become isolated from valuable interactions with other professionals. Seek out others who are in similar situations—such as other solo consultants or work-from-home product managers. If there is no local networking group for professionals in your field, consider creating one and scheduling in-person meetings. You can also find online forums or communities that cover your field. Make a plan to participate with those groups on a regular basis.

Control what you can. While you can’t control everything about your job, you can control some things. Try to identify the source of your discontent and then find ways to change your circumstances—or at least your perspective. If the issue you’ve identified is too much responsibility or too little clarity, ask your manager for help prioritizing your work. If your dissatisfaction stems from ongoing conflicts with other people or programs, ask your manager if they can reassign people or projects or adjust timelines to remove those conflicts.

While there is no magic bullet that will cure burnout, there are small steps you can take to get excited about your work again and make it enjoyable. If you find that you can’t “check in” again, it might be time to consider making a bigger change.

Get involved in the discussion. The ACS Career Tips column is published monthly in C&EN. Send your comments and ideas for topics for future columns to careernavigator@acs.org.