Oh hi there. It’s been a very long time I haven’t been on here. I’m truly doing a dis-service to myself by not allowing myself the time and mental space to write. It’s my favorite form of therapy and yet I keep putting it on the back burner (well, as we tend to do with real therapy, but I digress).

Speaking of digressing, boy did I just have quite an exciting few couple of minutes. I’ve had quite a day and I came here to write, after eons, EONS! Though it showed my profile on top and the “write” button was there, it would not click or it would result in an error message popping up.

“No big deal,” I thought, until I realized that it’s August (already?? where did the year go???), and that my WordPress renewal payment is due and the card details they have on file expired in December 2022. So, I hit the panic button almost immediately, trying to check my account settings and payment details. Cannot retrieve data OR set primary site; these errors kept popping up. Active accounts showed no accounts active. My mind went into panic pro max mode – I’ve lost my site, it’s gone. The domain is no longer mine, the old posts are all gone, do I even have a back up? I tried connecting with WordPress help; I couldn’t. Tried finding solutions online. Did a few troubleshooting steps. Nothing worked.

Nothing, until I logged out and logged back in again.

And voila!

Everything was back to normal.

And my payment is due next week, so I am good there.

Phew!

What a ride, eh?

Okay, now that I have sufficiently digressed from the title, let me get back to the reason why I came back to my website after a needlessly long break.

Okay it wasn’t needless and it wasn’t really a break, but that’s another story for another day. Also I don’t know why I add these details in; who am I even talking to? Is anybody even reading these?

Okay, so demotivation. The D word. Right on par with other similar D words – disengaged, disenchanted, disillusioned, detached.

I have been working for a sum total of 8 years now, 7 of these in marketing – a field I chose and love. I have seen many highs and lows throughout this journey, and it’s only just beginning. I’ve got miles to go still. But anyway…

I love my job. I love playing around with words, with aesthetics. I enjoy brainstorming new ideas and then jumping on the Excel sheet to put thoughts into a formal plan. And then working with other people to make sure that the ideas get materialized and executed efficiently. Of course, I would rather get paid to do nothing (or be one of those people who get paid to take exotic vacations), but my chosen career brings me a lot of joy and I truly enjoy what I do.

But what happens when demotivation strikes? Actually demotivation is too small a word. An employee who is demotivated can be motivated again. But what if you lose interest all together, and start feeling, well, nothing?

Like nothing really matters. You show up to work, run through the motions, and call it a day? What does that feel like? Nothing. It feels like nothing.

The Descent into Detachment

(yes, look at me trying to be all professional and adding a sub-header. wow, J! What next? SEO?)

Detachment doesn’t just happen overnight. It normally occurs as a result of repeated instances of demotivation driving an employee farther and farther away from the overall vision of an organization. When none of your accomplishments are appreciated and every minor mistake is magnified, you keep unintentionally severing your ties with your organization. It doesn’t look like much in the beginning. After all the tie is not a measly thread, but a massive rope that tethers you to your workplace. But put enough small cuts on it over time, well, what do they say about the straw that broke the camel’s back again?

The thing is, most of us are replaceable at our place of work. That’s just a fact. Plain and simple. So, the people in power do not think much about the impact they are creating on the mental health and well-being of their employees. They talk a big game in meetings and townhalls and what not. But push comes to shove, do they really care?

Harsh, and there might be exceptions to this, but it’s unlikely that employees would ever mean more to leaders than their bottomline.

And so, they fail to notice what their tiny straws are doing to the camel’s back. Consistency is key, isn’t it? So what does consistent demotivation eventually lead to? You guessed it – detachment.

Once you reach that stage, it’s very unlikely to come back to the regular workplace peace you had to begin with. It’s not out of reach, of course. Consistent small steps in the right direction might help. Complement that with a big romantic gesture (not literally romantic, but you know what I mean), and maybe you might have your employee back.

But it begs the question – are the people in power even willing to look beyond their bottomlines and see the value that each of their employees bring to the table?

Do we ever really understand the importance of something before it’s lost?

Well clearly not, otherwise I wouldn’t have almost defaulted on my website renewal payment. I thought I had lost my website and even those few minutes of thinking it’s gone made me realize how important this place is to me and why I cannot afford to lose it, or take it for granted. And that feeling might just keep me going and keep coming back here and keep writing and keep adding sub-headers like an actual professional.

So if a lazy writer like me can realize the value of her website, there’s always hope for organizations to understand the value of their employees, is there not?

Funny how this blog post came a full circle with the story I shared in the beginning. That’s the universe giving me a sign that everything will eventually make sense, even if currently it seems like a digression.

And so, we soldier on!

– J

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