No matter how much you enjoy your job, some tasks are more tedious than others. But a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology suggests that being bored at work doesn’t have to be problematic – in fact, acknowledging and managing boredom effectively may even help us to be more productive.
The researchers came to this conclusion after conducting three different studies. One of them involved asking dual-career couples to fill out several surveys a day, so that the experts could determine whether boredom had an impact on cognitive ability and productivity over the long term.
It turns out that boredom isn’t all bad: it can stimulate creativity by prompting us to observe our surroundings and look for new ideas to change the situation. And we shouldn’t try to fight it, according to lead study author Casher Belinda.
“Downplaying boredom on one task results in attention and productivity deficits that bubble up during subsequent tasks. Paradoxically, then, trying to suppress boredom gives its harmful effects a longer shelf life,” she explained.
As such, it’s possible to minimise the negative effects of boredom so it does not become a source of professional anguish – for example, by organising the workday so that boring tasks are not consecutive or don’t require you to take up the entire day.
“Following an initial boring task, employees should turn to other meaningful tasks to help restore lost energy,” she said. For example, don’t spend your entire morning answering emails if this task doesn’t stimulate you intellectually; instead, devote a fixed period to it before moving on to missions you find more interesting or rewarding.
Watch out for ‘boreout’
Boredom is, above all, a consequence of our actions. This emotional state arises when we find it hard to become absorbed in the activity we’re undertaking.
The best strategy, therefore, is to reflect on what causes it, so as to be able to influence the course of events and avoid becoming passive.
Above all, boredom is problematic when it becomes chronic. Employees who come to work every day dragging their feet can feel a sense of helplessness and weariness that leads them to “boreout” – an expression commonly used to describe boredom-related burnout.
The prevalence of this condition is particularly difficult to quantify, as it’s taboo to complain about being paid to do nothing. Nevertheless, academic Christian Bourion estimates that 30% of French people suffer from this syndrome.
While the causes of boreout can be diverse, employees who are bored at work often feel a deep sense of uselessness and a major lack of motivation. They tend to lose self-confidence, feel guilty, and isolate themselves. Eventually, going to work becomes a real ordeal.
As always in the workplace, it’s vital to talk to your superiors and HR managers about your unhappiness to prevent it from eating away at you. Boredom is the result of managerial failings that trap employees in a falsely comfortable professional routine.
And it’s perfectly possible to overcome it by asking for new assignments or taking a training course. Taking stock of your competencies with a skills assessment can also be a very useful way of bouncing back, whether in your current company or elsewhere.