If all you look forward to in your current job is the meaty annual bonus, then you don’t need a second opinion to confirm that your career is aimlessly drifting on stagnant water. When career stagnation sets in, the job you once loved will begin to remind you of a jilted spouse. Your work would no longer excite you and just the thought of dragging yourself to the office would make your tummy rumble.
What is meant by Career Stagnation?
Career stagnation occurs when your career stops progressing without much scope for further development. Many have gone through this deadening career phase. Some don’t do anything about it and continue to bob, preferring the permanence of a humdrum job. On the other hand, many others decide to take the plunge in search of golden shores. Either way, it’s important that you recognize the tell-tale signs of career stagnation in your professional life. Earlier, the better.
Not only is career stagnation a hazard to the organization you are employed at, but it can also affect your self-esteem, resulting in burnout and a partial loss of professional skills.
Major Signs of Career Stagnation
You are bored at work
An occasional boredom in doing routine work is quite normal. But when you are no longer interested in the work you do and need tremendous mental effort to begin a task in spite of possessing the competency to perform it, you are manifesting one of the earliest signs of career stagnation. Boredom.
I remember having a team member who would arrive at the office on time, with his head hung low and gaze fixated on the tip of his loafers. Every time he locked eyes with me to mumble a weak “Good Morning”, I would end up wondering why his eyes looked so lifeless. He would slump into his chair and stare at the desktop screen for more than a few minutes before he began tapping at the keyboard. One day, I saw him leaving the office – again on time – and the moment he stepped out of our corporate building, the man looked like he was about to do the salsa all the way home. A couple of months later, he quit to take up a more challenging job with another organization.
Tips to Overcome Career Stagnation:
If you are bored of the routine tasks at work, ask your manager for new challenges and responsibilities. You could also request to be included in volunteer projects within the organization as this will give you a chance to engage in new projects, connect with staff from other departments and get to learn about their job responsibilities. You are sure to gain something more meaningful to look forward to in the workplace.
You feel lonely at the top. And sometimes useless.
Once you have achieved the desired level of vertical growth in the organization as an accomplished professional in your field of expertise, you are most likely to encounter mid-career stagnation. This happens when you have possibly outgrown your role and need new responsibilities to bring back the spark in your career.
My friend was heading Corporate Communications for over 10 years developing it into a force to reckon with. She was pretty happy with the career progress she had made, until one day, she realized there was nothing much left for her to do in the department. She had reached the top but felt terribly alone and of no use to anyone around. However, instead of calling it quits, she turned herself into an “Expert”, agreeing to lend her communication expertise to other departments and also offering to groom junior staff into future leaders. Not only did she successfully overcome mid-career stagnation, but my friend also managed to create a unique identity for herself, forcing the management to sit up and take notice of the untapped potential she had within.
Tips to Overcome Career Stagnation:
If you are an exponent in your chosen field, talk to your immediate superior. Take the initiative to share your unique knowledge with other staff members and train them to become future experts in your field. Being able to impart exclusive knowledge gained from your life experience has a great uplifting effect on the trainer or mentor.
You become demotivated
If you are currently stuck at the same designation and paycheck you were proud of a couple of years back and there is no sign of a promotion in the near future, you are likely to end up feeling demotivated and dejected as an employee. You would begin to wonder why you are not being appreciated despite the good work you are churning out by the hour. Very soon, you would yearn to get out of the career stagnation you are beginning to experience.
Tips to Overcome Career Stagnation:
First of all, you need to be absolutely sure why you are being overlooked for a promotion. Do not assume anything. Instead, talk to your immediate supervisor about your professional goals and find out why you have not been promoted or offered any increment. If the reason is your lack of higher-level skills, find a mentor within the organization who will help you upskill and position yourself for professional growth. On the other hand, if you feel like you are not being listened to or valued, I would say, see yourself out.
Thinking about work makes you nauseous
This is the most dangerous sign of career stagnation that results from prolonged periods of stress in a high-pressure job. You fear going to the office. You dread the next encounter with your boss. And you break into a cold sweat every time you are called for a meeting. If left unattended, this sign of career stagnation can be detrimental to your mental and physical well-being.
In the field I worked in, this sign of career stagnation was a common sight. The organization was brimming with very talented employees who were trained to focus only on target achievements and toil without break to boost their monthly performance reviews. Since the job was high-profile and had its fair share of pizzazz, most of my colleagues put up with the unrealistic expectations and went beyond the call of duty to achieve their targets. Until one day, we sadly witnessed the untimely demise of our top-notch performer who succumbed to cardiac arrest after suffering from stress-related panic attacks for years.
Tips to Overcome Career Stagnation:
If you love your job but hate the compulsion to achieve, it is vital that you identify the source of stress and find a way to address it in a positive manner. This can be done only by contemplating what you want from the job and then sharing those thoughts with your boss or immediate supervisor. No matter how much you enjoy the adrenaline rush, a job that puts you in the line of fire every day is definitely not progressive but instead, stagnant and dangerous. So, set clear boundaries on work priorities before stress drains the life out of you.
HiCounselor makes career dreams come true for job seekers as well as recruiters. While job seekers benefit from HiCounselor’s career accelerator program along with the coaching services from industry leaders employed at FAANG companies, recruiters join hands with HiCounselor to empower their hiring strategy and zero in on the best candidates. Learn more about HiCounselor here and reach out to us on LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.
https://discord.gg/GUPad7ETad