"Used in..." dropdown menu in Project panel hindered functionality

In Short: Limited ability to locate an instance of an asset in the project 
Since when: this has been going on for years in After Effects on Mac.

Situation: Select any object in the Project panel, and next to the preview icon at the panel's top, click the dropdown menu to see a list of all the instances where the object is used throughout the project.
The problem: this list is greyed out, you can't click any object on the list in order to see its instance in the target composotion.

Workaround: attempting this and then switching to another application and immediately back to Efter Effects, makes the list clickable.

Problem with workaround: this solution is temporary and needs to be repeated every time I click the menu.

thanks!