Can’t seem to make a mark at work? Feeling powerless on the job can undercut your professional success and your happiness at home, finds new research from the Netherlands.
In the study, the more a worker felt like he didn’t have any responsibility, the more likely he was to slack off. Believing your work has no meaning is even more detrimental to your performance—and may also sour your mood and relationship outside of the office, the study says.
These days, your work life and your personal life are no longer separate domains, says study coauthor Lars Tummers, Ph.D. If your job seems meaningless, you’re going to have trouble feeling upbeat or cheerful even when you’re with your friends and family.
Fortunately, there are two simple ways you can boost both your sense of power and meaning at work.
1. Seize control of the little things. Try to rearrange your day to fit your personal work habits. How? Set aside an hour every morning to sort through your emails, or insist on scheduling any one-on-one meetings in the afternoon, Tummers suggests. Even declining to answer your phone and calling a person back when you feel like it—as long as that person doesn’t sign your paychecks—is enough to give you a power boost.
2. Use your skills to help people. Whether you’re a computer engineer or a electrician, someone outside your office can benefit from your skills or expertise. Offer them free to the less fortunate, and you’ll feel more gratified by the work you’re being paid to perform, Tummers says.
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