Avoiding the Autopilot Syndrome

by JODY URQUHART
Special to HRnext

 
Are you bored with your job? Has your work become one endless task after another? Many people are so caught up in getting things done that they lose sight of the purpose of their work and quickly get bored. In fact, the more secure and stable a job becomes, the more likely we are to find it unchallenging. What used to be fun and interesting is now boring and monotonous. In "The Tragic Sense of Life," Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno writes, "To fall into habit is to begin to cease to be."  

Why does it matter how challenging your work is? There are several answers:

  • Usually, tasks performed over and over again become less challenging and are sure to become a bore.
  • Challenge and stimulation are the fuel of passion for the job.
  • What is challenging for one person may not be for the next. The only person really qualified to decide what is challenging for you is you.
  • Jobs are not designed specifically to challenge people. They are designed to get the job done. It's up to individuals to create challenge in their work

Keeping challenge alive.
How do you keep challenge alive in your job? First, decide what challenges you. What are your most important sources of challenge? Think of times when you felt challenged and write them down. Look at your list and answer the following. Do you feel challenged by:

  • seeing the results of your effort;
  • solving problems;
  • implementing other peoples ideas;
  • knowing exactly what is expected and doing it;
  • knowing exactly what will happen in the future;
  • learning new skills and using them;
  • developing new ways of doing things;
  • getting involved with new things; or,
  • getting others involved in new things?
     

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