In our last post, we looked at the reasons for your employees becoming burned out, however, on the opposite end of the scale, it’s possible for them to suffer from another type of mental distress: boreout.
Boreout, as it sounds, is when someone consistently feels bored and unstimulated at work. This chronic state of boredom, known as the boreout phenomenon, leads to feelings of meaninglessness and detachment, significantly impacting employees’ mental health and engagement. Whereas burnout occurs from doing too much, boreout is the result of doing too little. In fact, up to 60% of employees may experience boreout in the workplace, making it a widespread issue that deserves attention.
Now, although they sound like conflicting problems, boreout can actually have similar consequences to employees burning out.
Definition and Causes
Boreout is a state of chronic boredom and disengagement at work, characterized by a lack of motivation, enthusiasm, and purpose. Unlike burnout, which stems from excessive workload and stress, boreout arises from doing too little or engaging in tasks that feel totally meaningless. This condition can severely impact mental health, leading to feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction.
Several factors contribute to boreout. Poor work-life balance is a significant cause, as employees who spend long hours on repetitive tasks without sufficient challenge or stimulation are more likely to feel disengaged. Tasks devoid of meaning and autonomy can also lead to chronic boredom, making employees feel underutilized and undervalued. Additionally, a lack of recognition or appreciation from management can exacerbate these feelings, as employees may perceive their efforts as unimportant or unnoticed.
Research indicates that boreout often results from a mismatch between an employee’s skills and the demands of their job. When employees are not given opportunities to utilize their abilities fully, they can become disengaged and disheartened. This underutilization not only affects their mental health but also prevents them from reaching their full potential.
Signs and Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of boreout can vary, but there are several common indicators to watch for:
Chronic boredom and disengagement from work tasks
Lack of motivation and enthusiasm for work
Feeling unfulfilled and disconnected from work
Physical ailments such as headaches, insomnia, and fatigue
Mental exhaustion and decreased productivity
Procrastination and avoidance of work tasks
Feeling present physically but not mentally engaged in work
Boreout can also manifest in behaviors such as cyberloafing, chatting with colleagues, or planning other activities during work hours. These behaviors are not necessarily signs of laziness or lack of motivation; rather, they are coping mechanisms for dealing with the feeling of being disconnected and unfulfilled. Employees may engage in these activities to break the monotony and find some semblance of engagement in their workday.
What are the consequences of chronic boredom?
Increased absence from work
Much like burnout, the first and most significant consequence of employee boredom is an increase in unplanned absences. If a member of staff feels they’re performing the same tedious tasks day in and day out, they’ll lose their enthusiasm for work, leading to a state of being bored out. Soon, this could develop into them dreading coming into work and having to drag themselves into the office, as they count down the days to the weekend.
Consequently, an employee suffering from boreout is more likely to call in sick. Unlike someone who enjoys what they do, they’re unlikely to push through feeling slightly ill to come into work – and there’s less chance of them choosing to work from home. Additionally, workers experiencing boreout may fall into cyberloafing or other distractions, further reducing their productivity and engagement.
Worse still, long-term, their persistent state of boredom could actually contribute to them falling ill, particularly mental conditions like depression and anxiety.
Employees fail to live up to their potential due to mental health issues
Bored out people become disengaged because their work isn’t challenging enough and they’re capable of more. However, if they’re not pushed to do more, they won’t discover dormant skills that could be built upon. Subsequently, if these skills aren’t nurtured, they’ll never achieve what they’re capable of.
Not only is this highly unfortunate for the employee, who never gets to venture down a much more rewarding career path, but your company misses out on their potential contribution too.
Higher employee turnover rate
Bored employees are more likely to leave your company and seek employment elsewhere. Employees affected by boreout can remain physically present at work without being mentally engaged for a good while. However, such employees can also often have a negative effect on their colleagues, who could find communicating and co-operating with them difficult. If this happens, it will affect your overall company culture, leading to even more of your staff seeking employment elsewhere. Chronic boreout can also increase the likelihood of employee turnover and early retirement, further compounding the issue.
Impact on Mental Health
Boreout can have a significant impact on mental health, leading to feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress. Chronic boredom and disengagement can create a sense of purposelessness and meaninglessness, which can be detrimental to mental wellbeing. When employees feel that their work lacks value or significance, it can erode their self-esteem and overall happiness.
The consequences of boreout extend beyond mental health. Research has shown that boreout can lead to increased absenteeism, turnover, and decreased job satisfaction. Employees who are chronically bored are more likely to call in sick, leave their jobs, or perform poorly. Additionally, boreout can have physical health consequences, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity, due to the stress and inactivity associated with disengagement.
Addressing boreout and its underlying causes is essential to prevent these negative outcomes and promote a healthy, supportive work environment. By recognizing the signs and symptoms of boreout and taking proactive steps to combat it, organizations can improve employee wellbeing, productivity, and job satisfaction. Creating a workplace where employees feel challenged, valued, and engaged is key to preventing boreout and fostering a positive, productive culture.
How do you combat boreout and prevent your employees becoming bored at work?
Talk to them
The easiest, yet most effective, way of preventing boreout is to talk to your employees. While some companies reserve conversations of this kind for annual appraisals, there’s no reason to wait. You can take an employee you suspect of succumbing to boredom and discuss important aspects of their professional life, such as: Creating a meaningful office culture is also essential for preventing boreout among employees, as it fosters engagement and a sense of purpose.
How they’re feel about their work and their current role within your company.
Which areas of the business they’d like to be involved in and where they see themselves going within the organisation.
If they’re actually bored at work and how they feel they could be more stimulated.
As well as speaking to your employees yourself, this is something that HR can help out with. HR can also arrange ant training said employee might need and keep track of their progress.
Consistently push your employees with meaningful tasks
Another way to prevent boreout amongst your employees is to systematically stretch their capabilities. Constantly delegate work to them to get a sense of their strengths and weaknesses, how much they can be pushed, and how they handle pressure.
Some of your staff will enjoy being pushed and rise to the challenge. Others, meanwhile, will appreciate it less and may need to be brought along at a slower pace – but they won’t be bored. Your challenge is then determining which employees can be pushed and to what extent, which is a much different, and preferable, problem to employees suffering from boreout.
