Fighting Workplace Malaise and Cynicism

It’s easy to fall into patterns of disengagement and pessimism at work. The bureaucracy, politics, and repetitive nature of many jobs can wear us down over time. But there are ways we can actively combat this malaise:

1. Think strategically – Adopt a systems mindset to understand priorities. For example, identify the most important task to move your goals forward, rather than getting bogged down checking emails. Focus on high-impact work first. This also applies to being strategic about how you navigate work politics. For example, I had an issue with an employee who worked in a different part of the company. So I strategically worked to build a relationship with a senior leader in that business group. In the process, I found a great mentor whose advice helped me in unexpected ways, and also was able to find a positive resolution to the issue by building bridges with that group.
2. Continuous improvement – Do a weekly retrospective identifying what you did well and what to change. Don’t settle for good enough – keep raising the bar. Be self-aware enough to recognize your weaknesses. We tend to overestimate our strengths and underestimate areas for improvement. Making excuses doesn’t help us get better. Until you admit a weakness, you can’t improve it. How are you better at your job now versus a year ago? What was your biggest mistake and how did you recover? If we can’t answer honestly, we won’t grow. I’m not diminished by acknowledging where I could be better.
3. Be careful who you listen to – not everybody at work is your friend or has your best interest in mind. I recall my first real job, at the end of the first day, this middle-aged coworker pulled me aside and said “You can’t be so nice to people.” Their approach was to just do their job and not go out of their way to help people. I’m glad that I didn’t listen to them. beware of gossiping and complaining. It can be tempting to get on the inside track of what is going on at the company, but this is very dangerous. You risk poisoning your work experience, the information you hear is frequently incorrect or one-sided. it can distract you from what you need to do, and the people who are sharing information with you are likely to turn around and spread rumors about you to others. Better to avoid it and seek to make things better where you are, rather than worrying about things you can’t control
4. Be proactive – Anticipate obstacles and put plans in place. Many stresses are predictable, like recurring requests from your boss. Put those on autopilot so you’re not constantly scrambling and work on them as you go, rather than scrambling when it is due.
5. Use downtime deliberately – When things slow down, avoid the temptation to coast. Use less busy periods to get ahead on projects or tasks. Maintain intensity even during slower days. So say you have two days full of back-to-back meetings and a third day that is only 40% full of meetings. Instead of coasting on the third day, look ahead to the next few days. Look at what is coming up and get ahead on those items.
6. Set goals – Define what you want to achieve and prioritize making progress every day, even your busiest. Having goals anchors you amidst the daily grind. Setting your own goals gives you a sense of control and purpose amidst the daily grind. You have objectives that you own rather than just reacting to what others dictate. This autonomy fights disengagement. Achieving goals, even small ones, creates positive momentum. You build the habit of identifying challenges and creatively finding solutions. Seeing your ideas bear fruit is motivating. Driving toward self-set goals makes you an agent of change rather than just going with the flow. You actively shape your environment rather than being shaped by it.

The antidote to malaise is engagement. By being proactive, improving systematically, and using time wisely, we can reclaim our sense of purpose. Cynicism says change isn’t possible – but our mindset and actions can spur change.