Are you bored at the office, not feeling terribly enthused or engaged in your work?  

If so, you’re not alone.  

Worldwide, 87% of employees report not being engaged in their work.

Often, employees view their jobs just as a means to an end. They put their time in, finish required tasks, look for diversions throughout the day to kill time, and clock out. There’s no real investment in their job and no sense of pride, satisfaction, or accomplishment.  

Hopefully, your job outlook isn’t quite that grim.  

Maybe you enjoy portions of your job—it’s a great company, you love your team, you experience some tasks—but other parts don’t feel like a great fit.

If you aren't satisfied with aspects of your job, you don’t have to walk away to find more joy in your work.  There are steps you can take in your current position to help you get more engaged in your work.

What does engagement look like?

Engagement is a passion, enthusiasm, unwavering focus, energy, and persistence you bring to your work. An engaged worker is happy to work to exceed expectations because they identify with the task.  

If you haven’t felt that in a while, continue reading to find ways to cultivate it.

Five strategies to boost your engagement:

1.    Tweak Your Tasks

You’re most likely to feel enthusiasm for your work if it “fits” your strengths, values, and goals.  

If you are more of a “big picture” thinker and your tasks often have you focused on the minutia, you might be less likely to feel fulfilled by your work.

If the tasks don’t align with your strengths, try teaming up with a co-worker who can complement your skill set or approach your supervisor with some of your big picture ideas and suggest that a co-worker might be helpful. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

2.    Spend time on Relationship

The time you spend building positive relationships with others at work is time well spent.  

The degree to which you create a rapport, share your authentic self, and genuinely interact with others, the more connected you feel to the organization at-large.

Honesty, integrity, trust, recognition of your own fallibility are essential traits to share to foster more trusting work relationships.  

When people feel respect, trust, and security, they too are more likely to take professional risks to improve their work.  Even if these interactions aren’t directly related to your specific job tasks, they can increase a sense of being part of a larger team working towards a common goal.

3.    Re-frame your thinking

Perhaps there are elements of your job that feel mundane or unimportant or don’t innately light a spark.

Reminding yourself that you are part of a team can help you produce quality work and help you grow in ways that will help you reach your goals in the future.

4.    Celebrate progress

You know, that jazzed feeling you get when you’ve made progress towards a goal that’s important to you.  

Celebrate it!  

Even if it’s a small step in a series of steps, it’s worth celebrating.

Acknowledging your progress generates more progress.  

You’ll feel more engaged in your work if you’re actually recognizing the fruits of your labor, no matter how small.  Add weight to even the smallest of accomplishments by writing in a Three Good Things journal.

No progress is too small to celebrate. Maybe you successfully pitched a new idea, or you had an excellent mentoring session with a newer employee - great!  

Journaling helps you recognize your own positive progress, especially on those days when you may have hit a few snags elsewhere. Remembering the positive to offset the negative can keep you on an engaged path, which is possible when you use a journal.

5.    Time for Fun

No matter how busy you are, stealing a few minutes to have fun with your co-workers is essential.  Share a few laughs might seem counter-productive at work, but it can help to bring everyone’s stress level down.

Plus, laughter also drives innovative thinking.

Quiet decisive moments are important too.

You could take a few minutes to tell a colleague how much you appreciate her help or check in with another who’s been struggling.  Building a positive atmosphere at work can make it easier to find a headspace that allows for quality and engaged work

If you’re wondering, are my needs that important? Will my manager back me if I request changes?  

The answers are, yes.

Managers should encourage engagement because it's good for business.  

According to Gallup research, companies with a more engaged workforce experience lower absenteeism and turnover, higher productivity and quality, better customer experiences, and higher sales/profitability!

The more you share the details of who you are and what you want out of your work, the better the chance they have of providing you work that you find fulfilling.

Part of cultivating engagement at work is to free your time and your mind for growth-oriented, creative pursuits.  

Visit iStratus.com to see how the DayPlanner app can efficiently move you through your day with power and integration, letting you focus more energy on progressing towards your goals and personal growth.