When disengaged coworkers sap your motivation, you need a survival plan. Learn how to save those you can, adapt to the apocalypse, and escape alive.
New jobs, like any new relationship, can be exciting; they’re full of hope and potential. Just as the new relationship energy dies down and some couples get into a routine or even become bored, so, too, can enthusiasm for our work wane over time. We can find ourselves going through the motions at work, but without feeling. Even when you’re excited by your work, if you’re surrounded by zombie-like disengaged coworkers in the workplace, it can sap your enthusiasm and energy. Fortunately, there are steps you can take, usually involving far less blood and violence than when dealing with actual zombies.
Start with your zombie coworkers; you show up ready to work, but your colleagues are demotivated and not very helpful. It’s important to understand why they became zombies. This can help you avoid becoming one yourself. There may be a toxic culture that threatens to suck the life out of you, too, or a senior leader to avoid. Alternatively, their disengagement could stem from personal circumstances outside the office.
For zombies, it’s all about the brain, and if you want to save your coworkers, start there. Understand what motivates them and why they got demotivated in this job. See if there’s something you can do to address their needs. In the 2013 zombie movie World War Z, Jurgen Warmbrunn explains why Israel is actively saving refugees: “Every human being we save is one less to fight.” If you can find another coworker who isn’t yet a zombie, or turn one back, you’ll have one less drain on your energy and one more ally to help you change things.
Realistically, unless you’re their manager or have access to the resources to address their needs, you may not be able to do much. If you’re a manager taking over a team of zombies, start here. If you’re a peer, this information can be helpful, but you probably can’t change their circumstances.
Doing so is complex (and beyond the scope of this article). Many managers struggle to do so, which is why there’s a whole section on it in Chapter 5, “Management: People,” of The Career Toolkit: Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You. There are plenty of other resources online for understanding people’s motivations at work and engaging them.
One ray of hope comes from the South Park zombie episode “Pinkeye.” After Kenny gets killed (“You bastards!”) and embalmed with Worcestershire sauce, he turns into a zombie and begins infecting the town. The boys soon learn from the Worcestershire sauce customer service line “not to start decapitating zombies left and right” but to kill the original zombie (a technique that also works on Southern California vampires). Often there is a linchpin causing the malaise, such as a manager who is either actively demotivating people through poor management or simply not caring. Sometimes it’s a systemic or cultural issue that actively impedes you. (This is technically the responsibility of a corporate leader who doesn’t notice or doesn’t know how to address the issue.) If you can find a way for that to change, the entire town, er, team, can be saved.
Realistically, this isn’t easy. In zombie movies, it’s the team that ultimately defeats the Big Bad. Likewise, you probably can’t make a change of this magnitude without a number of allies who together can work to move the manager or change the status quo. Even with them, it can be an uphill battle and not one you can win; tread carefully.
Often, you can’t save your zombie coworkers; they’re too far gone, and without them, you’re unlikely to eradicate the source of the zombies. You’re now faced with limitations. Dynamic teamwork is nonexistent and grandiose plans suddenly seem like a faraway dream. What can you do?
Begin by resetting expectations. If you fly off on a dream beach vacation only to find lots of bad weather, there’s not much you can do to change the circumstances, but you can change the itinerary. You can pout in your room at the loss of the vacation you wanted, or you can look for indoor activities. Yes, sunny, white-sand beaches would help you relax, but maybe with the right vacation friends—other vacationers also stuck at the hotel—you can find a different way to relax and recharge over games, dinner, or other activities. To make the vacation a success, you need to accept the constraints you can’t change and adjust your plans and expectations.
Likewise, you can’t always motivate your coworkers. Maybe someone else will be energized by your plans and enthusiasm, but you can’t count on it. Instead, accept the constraint and reset your plans and expectations in your job. You might be able to find people in other departments with whom to collaborate or who can mentor you. People in zombie movies often find allies to work with; perhaps you can create a joint venture or partnership with an external organization. People in a zombie apocalypse don’t go on vacation; they change how they find happiness on a more limited scale, adjusting to the realities of the world. Scale projects to ones that you can do with minimal support from coworkers. It might not be as large and exciting, but it will get you wins to further your career.
What happens if you find your own energy waning and you start to feel like a zombie? Unlike in the movies, it doesn’t happen in an instant, like getting bitten by a zombie, but tends to be a slow decline. Preventing that decline also begins with setting expectations (or resetting them as needed). Disappointment fuels disengagement. By resetting to goals achievable with less support from coworkers, you can get wins and be in a virtuous, not vicious, cycle.
One possible reset is in terms of the purpose of the job. For some people, a job is a source of satisfaction and challenge. For others, it’s simply a means to an end, be it a better job or simply money to support other goals in life. (This is why most of the career questions in The Career Toolkit career plan questions are not about the job itself, but about your goals in life.) Even if you’re in the first camp, perhaps for this job you could temporarily move into the second camp. Don’t look at this job as the root source of what you need, but merely a temporary step along the way to your long-term goals.
People in zombie movies know they always need an escape route. You, too, need to start planning your escape. That could be looking to move on to a new job sooner rather than later, or laying the foundation for a switch to a different department in your company. (Hopefully, you’ve built your network; if not, it’s time to get started.)
The worst thing to do is give in. In the movies, when you turn into a zombie, it’s game over. You’re not just a zombie some of the time. When you turn into a work zombie, you risk it spreading in other aspects of your life. This can impact your friendships and family relationships. More critically, it can sap the energy you need to find a new role and that’s what you need to escape.
Sometimes you might find your own job is a zombie job; if so, see “Are You Stuck in a Zombie Job?” Hopefully, for most of your career, you’ll love your job and will work with active and engaged teammates. In other cases, you’re energized, but everyone on your team is a zombie. In these cases, avoid becoming a zombie yourself, find some allies, and make sure you get out alive.
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