We’ve all been there (either that or I’m exposing myself massively here!) You’re at work and all you can do is watch the clock for home-time. For most of us, these periods of boredom are fairly short-lived, for others, it’s an occupational hazard. Recently, there’s was a case of a French man who was trying to sue his employer for “bore-out”. That’s right – they paid him to do nothing, and now he wants to take them to court for ruining his life.
It sounds absurd, doesn’t it? Or does it? Boredom at work is a big thing – for organisations, it’s a money-losing track (if your employees are not working – what are you paying them for?) and for employees, it’s not great for well-being. Most of us want to feel a sense of satisfaction for the work we do – to feel valued, and to know that we are adding value – to feel like our work is meaningful.
What is boredom?
Seems a slightly silly question. Surely everyone knows what boredom is. Symptoms of boredom can include:
- clock-watching
- googling funny breeds of dogs
- rearranging your collection of pens on your desk
People have all sorts of strategies for dealing with boredom, ranging from pretending their pen is a light-saber, to taking endless selfies. But what causes it? The Oxford Dictionary has the following definition for boredom:
“Feeling weary and impatient because one is unoccupied or lacks interest in one’s current activity.”
So, from Oxford, we can see that the key ingredient for boredom is being unoccupied (i.e. nothing to do) or lacking interest in the activity you are expected to be doing. So boredom is caused by a combination of things – the task itself, and the personality and working preferences of the individual expected to complete those tasks. It is probable that a task that makes one person bored, may excite another. Also an individual who is unproductive and apathetic on one task may excel in another. Of course, there are also monotonous tasks – which is where the repetition of a fairly simple task eventually bores the pants off you.
What Causes Boredom?
The Psychological Contract
There is an abundance of research on the importance of the psychological contract. This is where individuals have a perception of a role, or an organization, at the application/interview stage of the recruitment and induction process. Individuals make assumptions, based on conversations they have had with people within the organization, or from the website experience, about what they will be doing in a role. For many, a break in the psychological contract is hugely disappointing. It is also relevant to boredom – if you believed you were going to be making main courses at a Michelin star restaurant and you end up washing pots, you are likely to feel bored – and annoyed.
Incongruence Between Role and Personality
We’re not all suited to the same roles. Diversity is what makes the working environment richer, and what allows all types of roles to be filled. Some people love working in groups, where others prefer to work alone. Some people love networking, whereas others break out in a cold sweat at the mere mention of the word. Some people love working with computers, and others just can’t figure out why every time they touch one it decides to break down. And so it goes on. The best matches are the ones where the individual and the role match. People who are in roles that suit their personality and preferences, are less likely to become bored.
Feeling Your Work Lacks Meaning
When we feel like we are working towards a ‘greater good’ we will work hard at anything – ask anyone who has counted election votes through the night, dressed up as Santa’s elf at the local mall, or given birth – because the thing we are working towards is incredibly important to us. People who work in a role (or for an organization) that provides them with a sense of working towards something meaningful are less likely to become bored – or if they do become bored they justify it to themselves and continue with the same level of commitment.
How do People Deal with Boredom?
It seems that people’s natural strategies for dealing with boredom range from reactive to proactive. For some people, boredom spurs them into action (if you want to question what you are doing with your life be inspired, watch this TED talk by a 15 year old who researched how to diagnose pancreatic cancer whilst pretending to read his science text-book at school). For others, it leads to apathy and even depression. For most of us, our strategies are likely to change based on the situation, and our general mood at the time. I once had a colleague who would send me a countdown email on the hour telling me how many hours were left until home-time, and I had a job during my time at University working as a receptionist where I basically managed to get all of my Uni studies done (thank you – and sorry!)
What can we do About Boredom at Work?
So here’s the big question – if boredom at work is detrimental to individual health, and costly for organizations, how do we fix it? There are a few basic strategies you could start with:
Individuals
Well – you could just keep your head down and spend your whole day on facebook, but let’s face it, facebook isn’t always that interesting anyway. You’re probably reading this article because you want to improve your working life, so here are some suggestions:
· Ask your manager if you can do a professional development plan. There are lots of ways you can attend training, or networking events, or learn on the job. You will need to prove that you are getting your day-to-day tasks done, and sell the benefits of improving your skills to your manager (cross-departmental working, being able to “act-up” if someone more senior to you is away, etc.)
· Suggest a service improvement project. If a task is really boring, think of the ways you can make it more efficient, or more interesting. Write down your ideas, and take them to your manager explaining how it can be improved.
· Help your colleagues – if you have nothing left to do, look around the office – is someone else struggling with their workload? Supporting them on their tasks may help you to learn something new.
· Swap tasks with someone – clear this with your manager first! If someone else is doing a task which you find interesting, and they like the sound of your tasks, try to arrange a task swap.
Managers
It’s a tough gig sometimes, keeping the team on track, managing workloads, thinking about deadlines. That said, noticing and addressing boredom within your team may pay dividends when your team becomes more motivated and productive. Here are a couple of suggestions:
· Recognise boredom in your team – look at the behaviours of your team members (don’t go looking at their browsing history – no one likes that manager) and ask them how they feel. Ask them what their aspirations are. A quick analysis of the team will give you insight into which team members are enjoying their work, and which ones are struggling.
· Think about the balance. It is actually possible to have bore-out and burn-out in one team. Consider the ways you can buddy people up so that those with heavy workloads are supported ,by those with lighter workloads.
· Allocate tasks based on personality – if you have someone who loves detail and another person who hates detail, try to give any detail focused work to the person who loves it.
· Motivate the team – if you have to do a monotonous task in your team, think about other ways you can reward them for their work. If the task is unlikely to give them work satisfaction, can you do a team night out at points? Even cake on a Friday afternoon (everyone loves cake) or a meeting where you recognize commitment and dedication.
Organisations
It’s sometimes difficult to think about individual boredom when you’re running a business – there are other things, which take precedence. But presenteeism (people at work, but not doing work) is costly, so consider some of these strategies:
· Employ individuals who share your brand values – people who work within their values systems are proud of working for the company - this naturally gives a sense of work satisfaction.
· Consider the way you advertise roles in the organization – if a job is likely to be boring, you still want to recruit people into it, but don’t make it sound more sexy than it is – if they won’t be jet-setting around the world and speaking with your high-end clients don’t imply it in the job description. People who expected one thing of their role and find the reality to be different are more likely to become bored.
· Put in place processes to recognise diligence and commitment as well as output on a company-wide scale. Recognising that someone has sat in front of their computer doing data entry for 8 hours a day, for the last 4 months might just help them feel better about things.
We’ve suggested a couple of strategies, but the opportunities are endless, and solutions will differ for each organization and situation. If you would like us to support your organization in assessing the causes of boredom, and finding solutions, contact us!