Leadership
this extreme context. Storm chasing involves the pursuit of severe weather. Those who have encountered a powerful tornado will attest to the exhilarating, even spiritual nature of the experience. It might seem like highly engaging work for scientists, tour operators, and those who make a living from selling their footage. Yet the opposite is often true. It frequently involves boredom and disappointment. Teams spend their days preparing for dramatic encounters with severe weather that frequently fails to live up to expectations. Storm chasing might not sound similar to your work. However, many professionals face a similar struggle to stay engaged. “We spend more time at our workplaces, but are not permitted enough time to engage with important tasks that we find desirable” This is partly due to the lack of meaningful work in many modern jobs. It can also be because staff who are enthusiastic about their work only have fleeting opportunities to engage with core tasks that provide them with a sense of purpose. Consider the firefighter who signs up to rescue people from blazes, only to spend their days attending false alarms. Or the news correspondent
who arrives on the scene to report an important story but finds nothing much happening. Such unpredictable and intermittent work demands wear down people’s enthusiasm. We spend more time at our workplaces, but are not permitted enough time to engage with important tasks that we find desirable. This has been shown to lead to a lack of productivity, accidents, and even a loss of professional identity. Meanwhile, those who feel engaged at work are like to be more creative, committed, and enjoy a greater sense of wellbeing. The good news is that our research shows that many storm chasers have learned to stay engaged at work, even in the slowest periods when nothing exciting is happening. By studying them, we identified how other professionals can remain more engaged. 1 Redefine ‘meaningful tasks’ Storm chasers broaden what they consider to be meaningful tasks. For example, they may cultivate an appreciation for commoner, more predictable weather scenarios. As one tour operator told us, “We tell clients we regularly see supercells, which can be more beautiful and photogenic than tornadoes.” Help employees to appreciate a range of everyday situations, not just extraordinary cases. This is particularly important in roles that face uncertain work demands. Employees may particularly feel let down when they see colleagues working on bigger projects. This can sap motivation and the quality of their work. You can avoid this disappointment by setting realistic expectations. Another approach is highlighting the inherent worth of an employee’s work, even in ordinary situations.
TO THE CORE
1. Many employees struggle to stay engaged because they spend little time on ‘core tasks’ that give them a sense of purpose. 2. Even storm chasers get bored at work, but they have found ways to stay engaged, set realistic expectations, and add meaning to everyday tasks by focusing on how important they are. 3. Fill downtime with more meaningful jobs to prevent idle employees feeling unproductive and stressed. 4. Embrace preparation and debriefs to prolong the sense of purpose created by core tasks that do not happen every day.
T wo vans pull over on a grassy hilltop. Inside sit a dozen meteorology students and their professor. From here, you can see in all directions across the Great Plains of North Dakota. You can also hear the rumbling from a thunderstorm overhead. This is what they have been waiting for since the weather forecast predicted the “storm of the year” and an “earth-grinding tornado.” Yet some of the students are hardly paying attention as the professor reports that the storm is producing hailstones the size of grapefruit. One is even falling asleep. Management scholars would say the team is suffering from low engagement. The problem is not that they lack passion. Rather, it’s they spent all week focusing narrowly on a tornado scenario that is now failing to happen. As management professors, we have spent three years accompanying storm chasers to understand how professionals engage with work in
2 Enrich downtime Chasers enrich their downtime by filling it with activities that make days feel productive, even if no storms occur. They may test a new forecasting technique, for example. When downtime goes on for too long it leaves employees feeling unproductive and underutilised. They may even feel stressed about about their lack of performance, like a software developer without a project or a consultant awaiting a client. Focus employees’ attention on things they can control. Encourage them to develop their professional skills for future projects, provide support to attend a conference, or arrange access for them to build connections with other departments. By giving employees something useful to do at their own discretion, managers can get employees’ minds off waiting. Instead, they feel they are using their time productively in ways that contribute to broader organisational goals.
3 Extend core tasks Chasers also extend the duration of their core tasks. The time spent preparing for a storm – and debriefing afterwards – can be more important to keep them enthused than the five minutes they get with the tornado after eight hours of driving. In most workplaces, there is an understandable desire to use time efficiently. However, stretching out the extraordinary tasks that energise employees can help them feel engaged at work. Events such as product launches or meetings with important clients may be brief. However, the days of preparation and debriefing allow time for energy to build among colleagues as they work together. Managers can magnify this excitement by showing how administrative tasks tie into the success of the larger project. Bosses can even create new tasks that let employees relive the exciting moments. For example, have them share what they have learned with
other units in the organisation. Stretching out extraordinary events helps employees to form memories that can keep them feeling enthusiastic about their work. Our research shows that we can be more engaged at work when we appreciate the broader range of tasks that come our way, enrich idle periods with meaningful activities, and stretch out the energising moments that we encounter. By applying these lessons, leaders can prevent their team growing bored between flurries of intense activity. This can help to improve productivity and employee satisfaction, creating a brighter outlook for the organisation.
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