Overcoming the Numbness: A Journey to Re-engagement at Work
"Engagement is not an event, it’s a continuous journey that demands ongoing attention." – Brian Solis
Too Much Dental Freezing
When I was a kid and into my teen years, I visited the dentist far more often than I liked to manage my teeth and prevent crowding. This management resulted in multiple tooth extractions. With these extractions came the freezing. The strangest part of having your mouth frozen was dealing with a numb face for a couple of hours afterward. It’s a really weird feeling – you can feel your mouth moving and touch your face, but it feels foreign because of the numbness.
Emotional numbness is something we can experience at work. There have been periods in my career where I felt this type of numbness. During these times, I was present, but my level of passion and engagement was quite low. I longed for the sense of excitement that used to drive me, but I struggled to stay motivated to do even the fundamentals – I was in a perpetual struggle, just going through the motions.
The Numb Walk Among Us
According to a 2023 employee engagement survey by Quixy, 85% of employees are not engaged at work. This number gives me some comfort that I am not alone in these emotions, but it is also a startling statistic considering the impact it can have on organizational culture and performance.
When team members become disengaged, companies lose the power of innovation and commitment needed to gain an edge. How can we grow and innovate when only one in six of our team members is excited to show up for work?
A recent Gallup poll highlighted similar statistics on disengagement, revealing five key drivers of employee engagement:
Clarity of expectations
Connection to mission and purpose
Opportunities for learning and growth
Opportunities to do what I do best
Feeling cared about at work
Engagement is a Two-Way Street
Reflecting on my numb period, I see why I experienced those feelings. My role at the time had me living in a separate part of the country, relatively isolated from my colleagues. My access to information, news, and insights was limited to what I could gather from calls or occasional visits back to the head office.
Looking back, I was uncertain about the remedy. I felt that leadership had some responsibility to maintain my engagement, but I also believe in self-leadership. There's more we can do ourselves to increase our levels of personal engagement.
Engagement is a two-way street. Taking the perspective of self-leadership and personal accountability, let’s explore these five drivers of engagement and focus on how we can take ownership of our own re-engagement strategy at work.
1. Clarity of Expectations → Clarify Expectations
Without direction, an organization is lost and purposeless. Therefore, leaders must communicate expectations clearly. However, if you feel unclear and are waiting for direction, it is up to you to take action and clarify expectations. Sometimes leaders don’t realize something is unclear until it is brought to their attention.
2. Connect My Mission & Purpose to the Company’s Mission & Purpose
We can lose sight of our own mission and purpose. In these moments, the first step is to reconnect with our core values and purpose. With clarity, we can align our personal goals with the organization’s purpose. Seeing the alignment between our personal achievements and the organization's goals can reignite our sense of purpose and drive re-engagement.
3. Opportunities to Learn & Grow → Own My Learning & Growth
Many team members sit back and wait for the company to offer training. Learning requires action. We can’t learn if we are sitting idle. Learning comes when we step out of our comfort zones to explore the unfamiliar. We must take ownership of our own learning. If there is a skill or information gap, create a plan to address those gaps.
4. Wait to Be Asked to Do What I Do Best → Create Opportunities to Do What I Do Best
What do you do when you feel your skills are underutilized? I’ve seen people let their skills go to waste, becoming embittered when they aren’t called upon. Conversely, I’ve seen people actively pursue opportunities to showcase their skills within their roles. If you want to be asked to do your best, demonstrate your best repeatedly, and the opportunities will come.
5. Feeling Cared About at Work → Care About Others at Work
This one is tough. Leaders must express genuine care for team members, but many of us are working remotely or in isolated roles. It’s easy to focus on the lack of visible care. Instead, take ownership of caring for others. Check in on a colleague, call your boss to see how they’re doing, and offer help. When we care for others, it often encourages others to care for us.
Rediscover that Loving Feeling
"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." – Viktor E. Frankl
I don’t miss my trips to the dentist for tooth extractions, but I can still easily fall into a state of numbness at work. Even when surrounded by an office full of people, it’s easy to put our heads down and charge ahead in a state of crowded isolation.
I’m writing this as much for myself as a reminder to keep active re-engagement as part of my daily strategy at work. It’s hard to come back from complete numbness. Let’s take action to turn it around before we get too close to the edge.
