Stuck in a Spuddle? How to Break Free & Find Meaning at Work
‘Spuddle’ is a state where one is “extremely busy while achieving absolutely nothing”. We need to start thinking about what factors influence work satisfaction. And let us be clear, do not mix meaningful with pleasurable.
By Kiron Kesav, Featured Writer.
We are in Alex’s apartment. It is 7:30 in the evening, and she is sitting at her dining table, her laptop open. She has just finished her seventh ‘Zoom’ call for the day, and now she must spend the next three hours doing some actual work, that doesn’t involve talking to faces in little squares on her screen. She toggles between her windows and opens an email that she has been writing for days. Her letter of resignation. Her mind raced back a few years to when as a twenty-something, she had joined the exciting world of advertising. While she didn’t want her life to be defined only by her work and wanted to have a life outside work, she also knew it was going to be a tough journey, with long hours and demanding work culture. But she wanted to prove herself and make a name for herself. And she did work hard.
Years later, she is still working hard and long hours. She spends more time with Excel sheets and PowerPoint slides than she does with her girlfriend. But of late, she has been feeling lost. Nothing she does at work seems to be impactful enough. She feels exhausted, physically and mentally, without anything to show for it. Today has been one of those tough days. She sends out a text to chat group with her colleagues (you know, that one, without the bosses in it). “I just finished drafting my resignation.” The responses started pouring in almost immediately. “Click send, now!”, “How I wish I had the guts to do this – to resign even before you have found another job.” “Yaay, you are going to gain freedom soon.” And a whole lot of gifs. While responses might make it seem that Alex is making an exciting decision, she isn’t so sure herself. She doesn’t even know how to describe what her work has started to feel like.
The closest we could come to describing what she is feeling is a word with its origins in the 17th century, ‘Spuddle’. Dictionary.com defines it as “a feeble movement”, while English lexicographer and media personality, Susie Dent, interprets it as a state where one is “extremely busy while achieving absolutely nothing”.
You have probably started relating with Alex much more now. Most of us, at some point, would go through a phase like this. We are constantly working, chipping away at our tasks with great efficiency, without seeing any tangible results. Even after all the hard work, you are left with a feeling of being inadequate.
If you are going through what Alex is going through and if you feel like throwing in the towel and going hunting for a possibly better job, that is normal. But does it always have to be like this? Maybe not. Let us break it down a little and think about what is it that one can do in such a state.
We need to start by pondering about the factors that influence work satisfaction. One of the oft-repeated points, and for good reason, is that of finding meaning in what one does. And let us be clear. Do not mix meaningful with pleasurable. They don’t always go hand in hand. Research has found that “even though their work is meaningful, people working in the health and education professions are ranked lower than average in terms of how pleasurable their work is relative to their other daily activities”. So yes, you might find meaning in your work, but it might still not be pleasurable. And few lucky ones manage to find both. However, it is when someone can’t find either that it usually doesn’t bode well.
There has been a lot of research done on what makes work meaningful. A lot of these researches directly or indirectly have been guided by self-determination theory. This theory focuses on “social-contextual conditions that facilitate versus forestall the natural processes of self-motivation and healthy psychological development”. Three innate psychological needs have been postulated, the satisfaction of which is believed to enhance self-motivation and mental health – competence, autonomy, and relatedness. These are also applicable to one’s work becoming meaningful.
People should feel that they are competent in terms of possessing the right skills and capabilities to perform their tasks effectively. Going further, they also need to feel a sense of autonomy in terms of choices and the empowerment to do their work. And ultimately, it is also important for someone to feel that their wellbeing and growth are taken into consideration by their bosses and colleagues and the feeling of caring is being reciprocated by them too – hence bringing about a sense of relatedness.
Of course, there are other aspects like money, growth and benefits which are important too, but if the above innate needs are not met, it is almost impossible for someone to find their work meaningful.
It is also possible to expand on the self-determination theory to look at other nuanced factors too. According to research published in MIT Sloan Management Review, there are 5 qualities of meaningful work:
Self Transcendent – The feeling that one’s work matters to others as much or even more than just to themselves.
Poignant – Meaningful work isn’t always about excitement or euphoria, it could very well be a poignant experience.
Episodic – Even the most meaningful work isn’t always so in a sustained manner; it is but natural for it to be episodic.
Reflective – Meaningfulness that comes with work is not always experienced at the moment. Many a time, it is felt during phases of introspection and reflection.
Personal – The understanding of meaningfulness of work, usually goes beyond the context of work into a wider personal life experience.
And quite like the qualities of meaningful work, the research also points at factors that destroy the meaning of work:
Disconnect from personal values
Being taken for granted
Pointless work
Being treated unfairly
Disempowerment
Isolation / Marginalization
Physical or Emotional harm.
Now, coming back to the state of ‘Spuddle’. How can Alex get out of it? Or if you are going through what Alex is going through, how can you get out of it? It is possible to arrive at a few key steps based on our understanding of meaningful work and the factors that destroy the meaning of work. The following steps go from being easy to practice, to being relatively more difficult, as one goes down the list. That is, for most people. The levels of difficulties for each step could very well vary according to the individuals and their personalities.
Set smaller, more frequent milestones
Quite often, one gets into a state of spuddle, as a result of end goals and deadlines looming large in front of them, and a lack of progress making it even more overwhelming than it is. It also forces one to question their competence, which as we discussed above, is a critical psychological need to be met. In such a scenario, setting smaller, yet more frequent milestones would help in making the work more manageable. The power of small wins has been well documented. It is important to understand the progress principle at this juncture - “Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important are making progress in meaningful work. And the more frequently people experience that sense of progress, the more likely they are to be creatively productive in the long run.”
Take a break & distance yourself
When you are in a state of spuddle, putting in all the hard work and not seeing any results, it is easy to fall into the trap of either quitting altogether or working even harder. Neither of which would yield the results you are looking for. This is where the importance of taking breaks and distancing yourself from the tasks at hand comes into play. More than the type of break – maybe you prefer taking a walk, some people might want to take a nap, others would want to spend the time reading or working out to blow some steam might be another one – it is the very act of distancing yourself that is important. Well-timed breaks, while being essential for physical and mental well-being, also helps to prevent ‘decision fatigue', restore motivation, enhance creativity and improve learning. These are critical if you are trying to break out of the cycle of feeling that your work isn’t yielding any results. This write-up itself is an example of how breaks can bring out positive results. Your writer had been going through a phase of being stuck for many days trying to get this going. Finally, a nice walk for about an hour around the neighbourhood with some great music playing through the headphones, and voila, the write-up was entirely drafted in the head by the time the walk was finished.
Introspect
Considering that meaningful work tends to be poignant rather than euphoric, episodic rather than sustained, and reflective rather than momentary, introspection becomes a vital tool to find meaning. Now and then, take a step back and think about the positive impact that you have had with your work. Regularly make a list of your achievements at work, the fresh ideas that you have brought to the table, and about rapport that you share with your teams. (And this will help you with your performance reviews too, you can thank me later.) It is up to you to find the right way to introspect, but ensure that it helps you to move forward and not backward.
Demand to see the bigger picture
We have seen how work must be self-transcendent and personal for it to feel meaningful. Now, if the tasks that you do make you feel like just a cog in the wheel, is it going to feel that the work you are doing is worthwhile? After all, pointless work does destroy the meaning of work. It is therefore important that you are being shown the bigger picture. Reach out to your managers or leaders to get clarity regarding that – it is your right to know and their responsibility to let you know. Remember, the bigger picture reinforces the real reason for your day-to-day tasks.
Voice out your concerns
As we had seen above, feelings like being taken for granted or being treated unfairly or disempowerment can quickly destroy whatever meaning you attach to your work. If you ever find yourself going through these phases, it is critical to voice out these concerns. Yes, good leaders are supposed to ensure that these scenarios don’t arise, but it is entirely possible at times, that your manager or boss, despite their best- and well-intentioned efforts, wouldn’t know that these problems are pulling you back. Keeping an open communication channel is often the key here – if you find yourself disempowered or being treated unfairly, bring it up sooner than later. And while you are at it, it would serve you well if you learn the art of saying no.
So, there it is. Five practical steps that can get you out of the state of spuddle if you ever find yourself in it (or if you are already in it). Think of this as a canvas with outlines provided to you. Colour it the way you want, in a way that you think works the best for your situation. The key objective is to find ways to restore your motivation and meaning of work. While there is nothing wrong with quitting a job if it doesn’t work for you, maybe, that doesn’t always have to be the answer.
P.S: Alex almost did click send on that resignation email. Almost. But then decided to give it another shot. After all, there was a time that she was in love with her job, and she believes that the magic might happen again if she could rediscover the sense of meaning that comes with her job.