Better at work (BAW): Why should you be?

"Work is work, nothing more, nothing less. I think you're romanticizing work when you say that."

That was the response I got when I tried to explain to one of my subordinates that I want them to explore something to do; something that they like to do, what they're strong in, and at the same time beneficial to the company. I said that if you can find that sweet spot, then you'll be self-driven, feeling more fulfilled, and the company would reap the benefits too.

Now, I do not disagree completely with what my subordinate said, to be clear. I do believe that some work, especially repetitive, non-cognitively challenging, routine work; are just work. However, in my defense, we're all working in a non-repetitive environment, highly cognitively-challenging line of work, and seldom every day is the same. We encounter new problems every day, hence we need to think of new solutions every day too.

What we may not realize is, our brain-- the human brain, is extremely greedy. It's greedy in terms of its energy consumption. If we're not doing anything physically active, the brain consumes about 25% of the body's total energy; such an energy sucker for a body part that's just 2.5% of the body's mass.

So why is that important to know?

Because in a setting like ours; working in an office, constantly racking our brains, and generating ideas everyday, it could be really tiring, really fast. If we don't present the brain with the rewards it needs, we would eventually make it sluggish one day. If we work the brain to the grind only to get a salary at the end of the month, foregoing the need to be fulfilled, the need to feel that you matter, the need to feel accomplished, to be proud, and to know you're significant contributor, calls for a confirmed burnout syndrome.

Then, the vicious cycle starts. You are burnt out, the brain is now sluggish, you'd become more and more stressed, your cognitive ability dampens, you can no longer bring out novel and fresh ideas, even processing small things becomes a big challenge, and your performance drops. Your boss highlighted this, you'd feel discouraged, and you think finding a new place would treat the illness. But you're just treating the symptoms.

6 months into the new job, the same thing happens again. Sounds familiar?

That's because the symptoms would always reappear when the actual illness is not being treated.

"Insanity is doing something same over and over again and expecting different outcomes"

Is there something that we can do?

Absolutely.

You should be better at it. But not by just being hard-working and grinding the hours; no.

I'm starting a series of how to be better at work from a working white collar's perspective in Malaysia, specifically, though I don't see why it wouldn't apply to others as well. Maybe a few cultural contexts would change how exactly these things could be done, but they're worth a try either way.

Subscribe to Better At Work (BAW) here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7205210550417424384

And let me first tell you that, in order to cure you of this vicious and cruel cycle, you have to recognize that you and you alone hold the most power to change your fate. Hopefully by following and reading my series, it is a testament that you're really trying to improve yourself and getting out of that brutal loop.

As always, good luck.