Feeling Stuck at Work? How Would You Handle Sharmistha's Dilemma of Restlessness and Career Growth?

I feel that I am stagnating! What do I do?
Sharmistha has been one of the high performers in the department, and she has had no complaints about her rewards and recognition. She runs a crucial section where her knowledge and experience are vital to the company. But she feels dissatisfied without knowing why and wants to leave her job. There is no concrete alternative, but she knows she will find one soon…

Employee's viewpoint

Sharmistha should:

a. Give in to her feelings and change her job

b. Continue for some time; things will stabilize

c. Talk to her department head

d. Talk it over with her friends

Organisation’s viewpoint

The manager should:

a. Wait for the restlessness to pass

b. Provide her with different tasks

c. Counsel her to be patient

d. Increase her salary

Expert's viewpoint

Sharmistha's phenomenon is not very common, nor is it unique. There are people born with restless energy who constantly seek new challenges when they have overcome the existing ones. Sharmistha obviously needs to feed this need and therefore should talk to her department head, as in option ‘C’, to get something more interesting in her job. If she does not, then her feelings will overcome her, and she will be unable to perform. However, just changing her job will not help because it is not the job that is unsatisfactory.

As Sharmistha's manager, I would need to understand her profile. Too often, departmental heads ascribe the wrong causes to problems and issues. A salary increase, for example, is not a solution. Providing her with a challenge in her task and counseling her not to let her feelings run away with her is the best alternative, as in option ‘B’.

:wink:

If you were to truly work with Sharmila, you would explore what is important for her rather than conjecturing and determining what you think she needs. Building codependency seems to be the easiest solution, but building capability and capacity to help her develop her own skills is what we should do.

In most high-profile and highly energetic executives, there is a tendency to feel bogged down for no particular reason. The person, being creative, will tirelessly produce high-quality work and meet all deadlines. Meeting deadlines can become a habit. After getting used to this proactive routine, sometimes a feeling of despondency takes over.

Possible solutions could include talking to department heads and friends who would be understanding. I would suggest that Sharmila take a short vacation away from the daily friction-filled office activities. That should do her good to carry on.

Well, some of my friends and colleagues have gone through this too. I think it's just about having a craving for more challenging areas, something with a sense of achievement. Doing the same thing over and over makes a person a master in handling a particular job function but takes away that feeling of challenge or achievement. Perhaps versatile responsibilities or introducing the executive into a new area for a short period of time can help stabilize things.

In my opinion, Sharmishtha needs a serious dose of meaningfulness in her life. Jobs can be fun provided there are challenges, stretched goals, and all those other empowering things that get talked about in Corporate Breakthrough programs. But when people feel that they aren't justifying their existence in the world, despondency strikes regardless of challenge, enrichment, and job rotation. Sharmishtha needs to take a good hard look at what she's doing currently and whether it really adds meaning to who she is from the inside. She may even chuck her job if it doesn't fit in with where she's supposed to be heading. She'd be better off working in a place which has the same ultimate vision as her own, even if it is something that she set up herself. Her supervisor needs to help her discover whether her feelings of demoralization stem from the specifics of her work (too easy goals, boredom, office conflicts, etc.) or if it is something far more primal. Both the employee and the organization would benefit a great deal from such an analysis. Who wants a sad, lost soul working for them anyway?

Actually, I went through this, chucked my job, and am on a roller coaster since, so I guess I'm a bit biased. Do take everything above with a pinch of salt! :D

Regards, Maliha

Maliha Raza

OD Consultant, Trainer, Freelance Voice-over artist, painter, poet, writer of science fiction stories that never get published, yogi, and volunteer in community development projects.

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