The surprising reason you feel ‘meh’ about work 

How’s work? If you feel like answering “meh,” you’re not alone. Gallup’s latest workplace survey found that employee engagement has slumped to a 10-year low. It might not be the work itself, though. You might want to take a closer look at your boss, says Dr. Katina Sawyer, coauthor of Leading for Wellness: How to Create a Team Culture Where Everyone Thrives.

“The proximal experiences that you have in the day to day of your workplace are what predict your general overall sentiments about your work,” says Sawyer, who is an associate professor of management and organizations at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management. “That means that the people that you work with most frequently tend to be really important, specifically leaders. Direct supervisors are often the key determinant of your feelings [about your workplace].”

Leadership norms are causing employees to disconnect, says Sawyer. Traditional beliefs include the idea that work should be a leader’s entire focus, working tirelessly. Leaders should always have the answers and be very decisive and assertive. And the individual leader is more important than the collective team in terms of what they bring to the table. 

“These ideas have permeated our workplaces,” says Sawyer. “As a result, when leaders rise through the ranks, instead of being the leader that they would have wanted, they unconsciously adopt these norms of what we’ve seen other leaders do.” 

Unfortunately, these beliefs just don’t work, and employees don’t want to work for a leader who behaves this way. “Feeling ‘meh’ comes from the norms that workers have inherited,” says Sawyer.

Organizations have not figured out a way to solve for “meh.” When they see burnout on the rise and job satisfaction on the decline, they turn to shortsighted and trendy wellness initiatives, such as yoga in the morning and mindfulness breaks at lunch, says Sawyer. 

“Sure, they may be fun, but are they actually driving results?” she asks. “While none of those things are bad in and of themselves, there’s no substitute for a bad leader. If your proximal experiences are not great, it’s like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.”

Instead of investing in one-off solutions, Sawyer suggests that organizations boost leaders’ capabilities to lead in a way that supports teams and, as a byproduct, drives results and productivity. She offers four techniques that can help. 

Forgo the Fearless Leader

The first mechanism she suggests is realizing that people don’t want superhero leaders, who are stoic, decisive, and unafraid. 

“Actually, that’s quite demotivating for employees, because they can’t see themselves in their leader at all,” says Sawyer. “They also often start to see the cracks when someone presents a very perfect image of themselves as a leader. People are looking for authenticity. When they don’t see it, it gets confusing and discouraging.” 

Building stronger teams happens when leaders and teammates share their struggles. They become motivated to continue to grow and thrive in the organization, because they actually see a pathway forward for them as human beings, says Sawyer.

Don’t Worry About the Clock

A second mechanism is training leaders to deprogram themselves from thinking that the amount of time that they spend on work is the best metric of productivity.

“Overworked leaders often produce a negative climate and expect overwork from their employees,” says Sawyer. “That’s a recipe for burnout.”

Instead, leaders need to create a culture in which people feel comfortable and confident to support one another through their struggles and to show gratitude to each other. “Positive team environments end up saving the leader time in the long run, because what’s supposed to be happening is functioning more smoothly, and leaders are not constantly putting out fires,” says Sawyer.

Reset Priorities

Third, leaders need to recognize that work supports life instead of thinking you must fit your life around work. This includes encouraging employees to prioritize their personal lives by maintaining and respecting their boundaries.

“Help them do the things that are important to them as people,” says Sawyer. “If someone is a parent and they’re coaching their kid’s T-ball team and have to leave every Tuesday and Thursday at four in order to get there on time, be cognizant of the fact. If you make it hard for your employees to participate in things that are important to them, over time, they’re going to grow resentful.”

Tailor Your Wellness Approach

The fourth mechanism is to realize that nothing is one-size-fits-all. “One of the problems that broader wellness initiatives have is that they take a blanket approach,” says Sawyer. “It assumes every employee will love to participate in mindfulness at lunch, but not everybody does.”

Leaders need to have honest conversations about things that really contribute to each employee’s health and well-being. “Sometimes those are physical things, like needing time to walk in the middle of the day,” says Sawyer. “Sometimes they’re mental health things, like needing to get to a therapy appointment every Thursday morning. Try to tailor what you offer to the extent possible to best support employees’ varied needs.” 

What Employees Can Do

If you are feeling “meh” at work and your employer isn’t taking steps to change the norms, Sawyer recommends looking for people in your organization who are like-minded and then suggesting some of the cultural elements that can shift the workplace dynamics.

“Create a committee on health and wellness, where it’s not just one squeaky wheel, but it’s a group of people who are brainstorming to try to create a better work environment for everybody,” she says.

You can also try to create a micro subculture sphere of influence that adheres to new norms. Document the positive impacts to sell the idea that these mechanisms work. And take steps to regain balance and well-being on a personal level, such as participating in a hobby after work. But don’t keep feeling “meh” about work. 

“The ‘meh’ feeling is a leading indicator that people are moving in a direction of being less engaged,” says Sawyer. “Companies should think of ‘meh’ as a yellow flag that’s headed to red and a recipe for burnout. It won’t get better on its own. Turn course now and recover instead of simply following the downward trend.”

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