How to Cultivate A Healthy Detachment at Work

Jobs are important.  They provide us with a way to use our skills and talents to make money which we then can spend on food, clothing and shelter.  And on the occasional vacation.  Unfortunately, many folks find their jobs to be a source of stress.  Well, here’s the good news: Your job doesn’t have to be stressful.  You have the ability to eliminate job stress simply by cultivating a healthy detachment at work.

Now, you may ask, “Well, to be successful in my job, shouldn’t I be fully engaged?  Shouldn’t I be highly attached to everything that’s going on in my workplace?”  The short answer is “No.”  The key to success at work is detachment.

Realize that your influence is limited at your job.  For example, if you work in an office, you can’t control what your coworkers do (or don’t do).  Similarly, if you’re an entrepreneur, you can’t control your customers.  Or the economy.

What can you control?  Yourself.  And that is all.  So, to be happy and successful at work, you have to detach from everything (and everyone) that you cannot control.  Instead, you need to focus on yourself and on doing the best job that you possibly can. 

Below are five practical ways to develop a healthy detachment at work.  Adopt these approaches to stay properly engaged in the workplace, while at the same time detaching yourself from all the office issues that can weigh you down:

Focus on Your Role in the Workplace

Your workplace is like a car.  And every employee is a part of that car.  Now, one person may be like the steering wheel.  Another person may be the engine.  Someone else may be the brakes.  So on and so forth.  Every individual has a specific job in making the overall machine – or organization – work effectively.

Problems arise when we try to involve ourselves in what the other parts of the car are doing!  For example, if I’m the steering wheel, I need to focus on being the best steering wheel possible.  And I need to let the engine and the brakes do their jobs as they see fit.

That requires having an attitude of detachment.  You have to detach yourself from the need to control your colleagues, and how they do their jobs.  Those folks may be doing a great job.  Or they may be doing a terrible job.  That’s none of your concern.

Your only concern is to focus on your job.  Specifically, you need to focus on doing your job to the best of your ability.  That’s it.  No more.  No less.

If you can simply detach yourself and stop involving yourself in what everyone else in the workplace is doing, you’ll be happy.  That way, if your colleagues are doing their jobs poorly, that won’t weigh on you.  Instead, you can focus your mental energy where it should be – on doing your job in the best possible manner.  And with that attitude, you’ll be not just happy, but you’ll be successful.

Put Your Job in a Mental Box

To effectively detach from the workplace, you need to put your job in a box.  Let me put it this way: You have a life.  And your life includes all the things that give you joy.  That may be reading.  Or spending time with friends or family members.  Taking walks in nature.  Caring for your pets.  Your life includes all the things that feed your soul.

Now, your job is also part of your life.  But when you think about your job, you need to think about your job as being in a box.  So, for a certain number of hours each day, you give attention to what’s inside that box.  And then when those hours are over, you put a lid on the box and walk away.  And you don’t think about the box anymore until the next time that it has to be opened.

Realize that the “work box” does not need to be constantly open.  When the box is open, give it your undivided attention.  And then when it’s closed, forget about the box.  Detach yourself.  Stop thinking about it.  And resume thinking about those things that give you joy.

When you put your job in a box, that allows you to have an appropriate level of detachment from your job. Realize that your employer does not need to you to be thinking about your job 24/7. And frankly, you aren’t being paid to think about your job 24/7, so why would you give it that much mental energy?

If you put your job in a box, I can assure you that you’ll not only be happier, but you’ll do a far better job at work.  That’s because your job won’t be a source of irritation.  Instead, it will be something that you do as part of your day.  When you job is just a limited part of your day, it can be a source of enjoyment and interest.  You then can do your job happily, and any job done with a happy attitude is simply done better.

Detach from Outcomes and Focus Your Attention Solely on Effort

At work, so many things are outside of our control.  For instance, we can’t control whether our efforts will be appreciated.  Likewise, can’t control whether our hard work will lead to success or a promotion.   In short, the outcomes of our work are completely outside of our control.

What is within your control at work?  Your effort. 

So, focus on doing the best job possible.  Work hard.  Be kind, respectful and gentle toward your colleagues.  Serve your customers with enthusiasm!  Be the happy face that uplifts those around you in the workplace.

And then detach from (meaning don’t worry about) what results from your efforts.  There’s a saying that the key to life is to “enjoy the journey.”  That is true in life, and it’s doubly true in the workplace.  Enjoy the journey.  Enjoy whatever your task is at work.  Take pride in how you do your tasks. Because you can control your quality of work. You simply can’t control how others view it.

Get in the Habit of Taking Micro-Breaks

Doing any task for too long is bad for one’s mental health.  If you do a single task for too long, you’ll become mentally and physically tired. 

So, you want to get in the habit of taking micro-breaks throughout the day to reset your brain.  One way to take a micro-break is to go for a short walk.  Or you can take 5-10 minutes to meditate.  Or simply read a couple of pages from your favorite book.  The key is to regularly mentally detach from your job for a short periods of time throughout the day.

Realize that taking micro-breaks isn’t a form of work avoidance or laziness.   To the contrary!  Short breaks allow you to reset your brain.  And every time you reset your brain, you return to your task with greater energy, more creativity and better judgment.  In fact, micro-breaks are truly the way to improve your work performance.

Micro-breaks are also good for your attitude about your job.  If you simply do your job for hours on end without break, it feels like drudgery.  But if you weave into your day short periods in which you mentally detach from the workplace, work doesn’t feel onerous.  Instead, you feel perpetually energized.  Those short breaks truly can help you feel good about work!

Have an Active Life Outside of Work

There’s no job which should consume your life.  Your job is an important part of your life.  But it should not be all-consuming.  Let’s put it this way:  If you were going to list your top 5 most important activities each week, work should be #5.  It should not be #1 or #2.

Now, I’ll concede that it’s hard to keep work in perspective because most of us spend a lot of time working at our jobs.  So, we have to remind ourselves that the other parts of life that are far more important!  One way to do that is to have a very active life outside of work.

You want to have hobbies, friendships, and creative activities that have nothing to do with your job.  Even if you like your job, you should have a bunch of things in your life that you like doing more than your job.  That way, if problems arise in the workplace, you can say to yourself, “Well, there are problems at work right now.  But work is merely a small part of my life.” 

When your non-work life is rich, then work becomes simply one part of your wonderful life.  That kind of detachment toward work is the way to put work in its rightful place!!

If you are seeking to have a happier and healthier work experience, try the approaches above.  Cultivate a healthy detachment from work.  Not only will a detached attitude to work make you feel happier about work, but ultimately, it also will help you to be far more successful at your job. (To read about 25 essential manners for the workplace, click here.)