I have found that most people are working without paying any attention to the potential impact of their actions and attitude. There are too many people who view their work as just another job, myself included. I think if we took a second to reflect on the potential impact of our actions in the workplace we may rethink or behavior at our jobs and the way we view our jobs in general. Workplace nihilism must be stopped.
How To Avoid Workplace Nihilism
It’s all good and well to lambaste everyone who is not taking their job seriously, but what good will it bring about in the end? If I chastise a man for being hungry, then refuse to offer him food and decline to teach him where to find something to satisfy himself. Then I will be drawing attention to his lack and thereby making his sorry condition even worse.
It is one thing to be hungry and unaware and an entirely different thing to be starving and continuously reminded of your want. The same goes for the individual wandering aimlessly from job to job, leaving a wake of unsatisfied employers and customers behind. If I draw to that person’s attention that they are a sluggard and scum bag for being so nihilistic in their professional life and do not bend down to help them. Then, I am no different than the man with knowledge of a secret and abundant food source refusing to help those who hunger. Not only would i be refusing to offer any help I would also be, in a way, doing something worse. Hunger unnoticed is more natural to deal with and less painful than hunger that you’re aware of. The purpose of bringing an ailment to light is for that of healing. To do otherwise would be to undermine the coping mechanisms of the body.
In other words, if I shed light on the aimlessness of employees in the workplace but do not help them find something to aim towards, I would be causing them more pain than if they were allowed to struggle on in the darkness. So, In hopes of giving aim to the aimless, I have drafted five methods that I think could be used to help reduce workplace nihilism.
Step One: Understand The Purpose Of Your Work
Whether you work in retail, food service, or the corporate world, your work affects other people. Your new job is to track down the link from what you do on the day to day and find each point that your work impacts another person. It may be that your work doesn’t deal with customer or client relations, and you do not interact with the public at all. That’s no problem as you presumably have co-workers. How does the work you do affect them? If you don’t have co-workers where do the products and projects you work on go to? My point is that your work touches someone else’s life at some point, find that point. It is much easier to see the purpose of your work whenever you can see its impact.
If you are not motivated by impacting others, and you find that you simply do not care whether you’re making someone’s life harder because of your work. You may want to think about how your work affects you. If you cant not think about others at least try to think about yourself. Try to find the points of contact between your work and your own life. It may be that the better the work you do, the more you’d likely receive a raise, and the less likely your boss will yell at you. The purpose of your work could then be in the result that it yields in your life. In the opportunities, it offers you and the provision it supplies for you and your family. If you cannot do the work for its own sake, at least enjoy it for what it provides.
I do not love the hard work for its difficulty, nor the product for its cost, nor the salesman for his talent. I love only that which they provide.
Step Two: Take A Different Point Of View
Over familiarity is the thief of purpose and happiness. If you have been at the same job for a long time, then you may need a change in scenery. There are two ways to bring novelty back into the workplace. You can leave and start a new job in a new place, or you can take a different point of view. You can change up your office, or you could take a more metaphorical approach. You could simply view your job in a different light. Instead of viewing the workplace as a place of boredom and dread, you could see it for what it was in the beginning, a blessing. In many cases, the job you have is the only thing keeping you from bankruptcy and homelessness. Focusing on the value the position offers you instead of the dread it brings you will help you find more pleasure and purpose in your work.
In other cases, the job you have maybe worse than bankruptcy and homelessness. Depending on the strain of your job, you may actually be better living on the streets. Unless your income is what your entire family depends on, then it’s better to keep the job instead of exchanging it for the former. You can subject yourself to poverty but not your family. Nevertheless, if you think your job is an unceasing fountain of despair, then you may want to give step four a shot.
Step Three: Make A Game Out Of It
If you cannot find a way to fill your work with purpose and meaning, then at the very least try to make it fun. There may be no way to make your work existentially gratify. You might have a job that somehow defies all of the suppositions that I’ve made in my previous tips. You first may want to make sure it is indeed the job that is causing the issues. It could be that you are depressed or have some other form of mental illness that is robbing you of your ability to view your work with joy and meaning.
If you have confirmed it is the job that has the issue and that there is nothing more serious going on with your health, then this step may help you. It may not work for all jobs, you may need to get creative, but try to make a game out of it. Turn your entire work into a game. Compete against your co-workers or your self. It helps to take the game seriously too. Make a leader board and keep track of your high scores. Have fun with it, and find ways to develop the game leaving room to make it more challenging. It is safe to say that eventually, the game will likely turn out like the job, dreadful.
Step Four: Quit
We have now made it to the final step. If none of the other options help, this may be the safest and most helpful thing you can do. Quit your job. Don’t do it blindly, but you will inevitably need to take the plunge. We can only do dreadful and meaningless work for so long until it poisons us ultimately. If you cannot find meaning, purpose, or joy in the work, then its time to move on. Even if you have found those aforementioned things, it may be time to move on if the work is poisoning you in other ways. Such as making it impossible to see your family or stressing you to the point of frequent break downs. It is essential to find meaning and joy in your work, but it is not the best of all things.
Take your work seriously and enjoy it, but remember there are more important things in life than having a good job.
Good points. I’ve been at my job for over 20 years, both a blessing and (at times) a “curse.” But always good to have a mental “reset.” All the best.