How to get motivated again at work

If you’ve got a potentially terminal case of the Mondays, you’re not alone. Here’s how to rediscover your career mojo.

How to get motivated again at work — it’s something virtually everyone struggles with at one time or another. Maybe you feel stuck, unable to move up or find new challenges. Maybe you’re simply tired of the same old, same old. 

In the 24 years since Gallup started surveying U.S. employees about how engaged they are at work, 2024 saw the lowest level of engagement — just 31% — in a decade. The drop was most significant among employees under 35 and those working in finance, technology, transportation, insurance and professional services.

Gallup is calling this the “Great Detachment,” a feeling brought on by rapid organizational change (primarily coming out of the pandemic), difficulties adjusting to remote and hybrid work, and new expectations for both employees and customers, among other reasons. The survey found, too, that more than half of employees are watching for or actively seeking a new job.

This pervasive meh feeling isn’t news to Vanessa Dougan. The University of Phoenix career advisor says the students and alumni she works with often tell her that they feel stuck.

“The words that come to mind most are ‘boredom’ and ‘monotony,’” she says. “They don’t feel like they have opportunities to grow or move to learn about other things.” 

This may sound obvious, but Dougan says that too often employees simply wait for the chance to do something new or more challenging. “As stewards of our careers, we need to be the ones to seek out opportunities, to find ways to engage,” she says.

What does that look like? Perhaps you can, after checking with your manager, learn about other roles and departments or ask to shadow someone who’s doing something you’re interested in. Other options can be to get involved with groups at your organization or volunteer.

“Ultimately, it’s about identifying a goal and starting to work toward that goal — really working to break up the monotony,” she says.

Working with a mentor can be a big motivation booster, Dougan notes. The recent Gallup survey found that just 30% of workers had someone at work who really encouraged their development, down from 36% in 2020.

One of the biggest hits to motivation, says Dougan, has been return-to-office mandates many employees are experiencing. “The vast majority of the people I work with want remote positions,” she says, “but these aren’t as plentiful as during the height of the pandemic.” If you’re one of the many experiencing both the loss of flexibility and a commute, consider how you can turn that double whammy to your advantage. Listening to podcasts, for example, to learn a new skill or more about a personal interest is one way to take advantage of commuting time. 

“If the people overseeing you don’t know what your goals are, how do they know what to encourage you to do or connect you to people or opportunities that come across their desk?” asks Dougan.

This, in other words, is your signal from the universe to schedule a sit-down with your manager. Tell them what you’d like to learn. Describe what you’d like your job to look like. Ask for their help in finding ways to integrate more of that into your day-to-day. Come to these conversations prepared to set goals that are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable/achievable, relevant and time-bound), and establish smaller interim milestones to track your progress along the way.

Just 46% of the workers surveyed in the 2024 Gallup poll said they clearly knew what was expected of them on the job (a feeling linked to disengagement). If that sounds like you, take the initiative to clarify the responsibilities of your role and exactly what constitutes good performance.

Dougan often asks her clients to complete the Work Values Matcher assessment available on Career One Stop. “It helps us to better understand ourselves and have more direct, clear communication with managers,” she explains.

The free, online test takes just a few minutes and delivers a score that ranks six universal work values (achievement, independence, recognition, relationships, support and working conditions) according to how much you value each.

“The goal is to ask yourself what makes you feel valued. What kind of work style do you need? Are you very self-sufficient, or someone who wants to be acknowledged often?” says Dougan. “Everyone is different. If you don’t know what success looks like [for you], explore that with your manager and understand how your role is valuable to the organization.” 

For many, it’s critical to feel that the work we do matters. That’s why “purpose” is one of three essential elements of true motivation in author Daniel Pink’s book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. In the book, Pink synthesizes decades of scientific research on intrinsic motivation, concluding that there are three elements of true motivation: purpose, along with autonomy and mastery.

“The vast majority of people want that independence: We are adults, we are competent, and we want to feel trusted to do our job without being micromanaged,” Dougan notes. “If you don’t have that [autonomy], you need to have that open and honest conversation about what’s happening that makes you feel that way, and come up with a plan.”

For example, if your boss tends to check in multiple (read: many) times on the progress of a project, let them know that you’ll provide an update at specific intervals or when you’ve completed an agreed-upon stage. Dougan acknowledges that talks like these can be awkward and difficult, but “when we think about the importance of those conversations, it becomes worthwhile to have them.”

Lastly, there’s mastery. We all want to feel that we’re good at what we do — and also that we’re recognized for that skill.

Gallup recommends setting career goals that align with your strengths. The company uses the CliftonStrengths model and provides a strengths-based goal-setting template to make it easier to come up with SMART goals that align with your talents and aptitudes. Dougan recommends, too, looking at past performance appraisals to see what you’ve been recognized for in your current or previous positions. And if what you’re valued for isn’t what you want to do, it’s worth considering getting additional training or education in that area.

We’ve all been told we should do work we love. “Certainly, we need to enjoy what we do,” Dougan says, “but does work need to be our passion? Not necessarily.” Most of us like some parts of our job more than others, and many have interests — even passions — outside of work.

Dougan notes that when she graduated from college, she didn’t even know that advising people on their careers was a job. “There are so many things we don’t know that are out there,” she says. “Keep your eyes open about what you like and what you’re good at.”

If, say, you pursue cooking or writing in your free time, that may not only juice your motivation in and outside of work, but those out-of-office passions could turn profitable or dovetail with your career at some point. 

If you’re finding it hard to take steps to engage more with your work, remember that workplace stress is a risk factor for depression and for missing work, especially if your job combines high expectations and demands and little control.