This question below was recently tweeted to me and few other coaches by Robbie Stakelum @Robbie_BXL. He attached a new study on reattachment.
In professional and personal coaching we often talk about importance of detaching from work outside of working hours. But how do we reattach with work at the start of the day? Do we have routines that set ourselves up for a productive day?
What does being reattached to work mean?
According to the new study Sonnentag and Kühnel (2016: 380) described reattachment to work as rebuilding a mental connection to one’s work after a non-work period (e.g., a free evening or a weekend). Reattachment means thinking about the upcoming workday and mentally preparing for it.
My Response:
I thought I would spend some time answering this question here in a blog post. There is no way I could respond with 140 characters on Twitter. Plus this study and question has me fired up BEWARE!
Yes, I feel all employees should be reattached when they are at work. People need to be focused, motivated and actually do their job!
At the start of the work-week or start of the work-day, of course, you need to mentally prepare for it, however, my regular audience are the people who don’t turn off work and are constantly thinking about work 24/7, they don’t unattached from work at all, this is why they need work-life balance strategies.
I know there are people who don’t reattach at work. They do the bare minimum not to get fired and are just going through the motions. In their mindset, they are just collecting a paycheck. They make their coworkers and supervisors angry because they are not lightening the workload. Yes, they really do need to step it up, reattach and take pride in working. Do they ever wonder why they don’t get promoted or respected. Well, it is because they are not attached to doing their job.
It’s time to reattach!
You have come back from the weekend or a vacation. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself and relaxed. Now, it’s time to get back to work.
How do you get reattached to work? It’s quite simple. Motivation comes from within the person. You have a job to do. Time to get refocused on your job duties.
🦋 During your commute get into the right mindset of going back to work.
🦋 When you get to work prioritize your workload.
🦋 Concentrate on the things you need to get accomplished and complete them.
Conclusion from the Study:
Taken together, this study brought to light the multiple pathways by which reattachment to work in the morning relates to work engagement during the day. Results suggest that reattaching to work before actually starting work sets the tone for the workday through anticipating high task focus, mobilizing positive activated affect, and recognizing available job resources. Task focus, positive activated affect, and the availability of job resources, in turn, enable high work engagement. Reattachment to work in the morning is a low-effort strategy that employees can use in order to start their workday in an optimal way. Organizations may develop norms and routines that help employees reattach to work and that support them in smoothly transitioning into the workday.
My view of the conclusion of the study:
I do agree with the study that reattachment to work in the morning has a positive effect on your day and work performance. I don’t agree with the study, that it is up to organizations to develop norms and routines to help employees reattach to work and support them in smoothly transitioning into the workday. I believe that motivation comes from within the employee, not the organization developing norms and routines for them.
Takeaway:
Employees need to take responsibility and accountability for their own work performance. It is not up to the organization to develop norms and routines for reattachment to work. Who wants to be known as (“the slacker” or “that person”) who everyone dislikes because they aren’t focus on their job duties and others have to carry their workload. Be responsible, accountable, motivated, engaged and take pride in your work performance. It really is easy to reattach yourself to your work, if you set your mind to it. ~ Patti
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