Burnout – the emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion that results from prolonged stress, often related to overwork or caregiving – can be destructive. So too is boreout, the stress resulting from a lack of meaningful work.

In 2020, a French court ordered a luxury perfume manufacturer to pay €40,000 to a former employee for inflicting extreme boredom on him, which amounted to harassment.

Personnel Today reports that between 2010 and 2014 Frédéric Desnard had so little to do at his job at Interparfums that he suffered from “boreout”, which caused his health to deteriorate. He said:

“No one cared if I arrived at 9 am or 10 am. I had to buy some supplies – a few sheets of paper – and then my day was over.” He remained in his post until he suffered a nervous breakdown and took seven months off work. He was later dismissed for his prolonged absence.

Desnard described his time at the company as a “slow descent into hell” and said his role amounted to “daily humiliation”.

Not all cases are as extreme as Desnard’s, but having “boreout” at work is as widespread as its counterpart, burnout.

What is boreout?

The term boreout was coined by Swiss business consultants Philippe Rothlin and Peter Werder in 2007 and described in their 2008 book Boreout!: Overcoming Workplace Demotivation. They characterised boreout as a psychological condition resulting mental underload and a lack of meaningful work in the workplace. People suffering from it have a sense of purposelessness and they may spend hours pretending to work while being inwardly under stimulated and frustrated.

Dan Cable, professor of organisational behaviour at London Business School, says that when a situation provides no opportunity for people to explore and learn, a state of disengagement results. A leadership mindset which prioritises reliability over curiosity pushes people into doing repeated and tedious tasks without having a sense of the bigger picture or of the end customer. Cable says this is bad for people – but it is also bad for organisations that get only lacklustre performance from their unmotivated and unengaged employees.

Medical doctor and coach Masi Njawaya says that signs that someone is suffering from boreout include dreading going to work, constantly checking the time, procrastination, distraction and grumpiness.

Which employees are most at risk of boreout?

In addition to production line staff, people who work in office jobs are likely to be underemployed. In a 2016 Udemy study of boredom at work, 43% of office workers in the United States confessed they were bored or disengaged at work. And:

• People in entry to mid-level jobs were more bored (46%) than those at senior levels.

• Millennials were nearly twice as likely to be bored at work as Baby Boomers.

• 48% of women were bored at work, as opposed to 39% of men.

• Over 51% of bored workers felt this way for more than half of their work week.

What causes boreout?

Repetitive and tedious tasks, not having enough to do and lack of interaction with colleagues are all obvious paths to Desnard’s slow descent into hell at work. But other possible causes include:

• Lack of learning opportunities or limited opportunities for growth. The Udemy study, which surveyed 1,000 people, found that 80% of workers felt learning new skills would make them more engaged.

• Unchallenging work that does not use the employee’s education. Allied to this is the lack of opportunities to delegate less-skilled tasks to more junior colleagues.

• Lack of meaning. Many people work in jobs they secretly feel do not need to be performed at all or spend a lot of time in activities that seem meaningless. David Graeber, author of the 2018 book Bullshit Jobs: A Theory, cites one example: “I worked as a guard in a museum where one exhibition room was left unused. My job was to guard that empty room.”

Effects on employees, and their work

While a job that is easy or that requires very little work might seem attractive, boreout can have a range of negative effects on employees. As one of Graeber’s interviewees found out: “I was hired as a temp… My primary function seemed to be occupying a chair and contributing to the decorum of the office. At first, this seemed pretty easy, but I quickly discovered that looking busy when you aren’t is one of the least pleasant office activities imaginable.”

Boreout can have cascading negative effects:

• Decreased morale and productivity: Bored employees are less motivated, engaged, and productive. They are more likely to procrastinate, make mistakes, and miss deadlines.

• Increased turnover: Bored employees are more likely to seek new opportunities.

• Physical and mental health issues: Chronic boredom at work has been linked to poor health outcomes, including a higher risk of mortality. Symptoms can include exhaustion, anxiety, sadness, lack of motivation, and decreased physical activity.

• Spread of negativity: Boreout can be contagious, with bored employees negatively impacting the morale of their colleagues.

How can leadership prevent boreout?

Lotta Harju, an assistant professor of organisational behaviour at EM Lyon Business School, France, told the BBC that preventing boreout in workers (even those in jobs that are inherently unstimulating) can boil down to “plain old good leadership”, where leaders take time to communicate to workers why what they’re doing is valued and valuable.

Harju says a shift in thinking is needed. While stress and burnout are important issues in the employee wellbeing discussion, she says they do not sufficiently represent the spectrum of human suffering at work. “Bringing boreout into this discussion could… broaden our understanding on what makes a good work life.”

As a first step, leadership and human resources can promote development by providing opportunities for employees to learn new skills and advance their careers. Training programmes, mentorship opportunities, and job rotation initiatives can all help employees feel there is room for growth.

Also consider:

1. Redesigning jobs: Evaluate current job roles and identify areas for improvement. Consider enriching jobs by adding more responsibility, autonomy, and opportunities for creativity.

2. Encouraging open communication: Create a culture where employees feel comfortable discussing their concerns, including boredom, with their managers. Regular check-ins can provide a platform for these conversations.

3. Fostering a culture of growth and innovation: Encourage employees to share ideas and experiment (perhaps with generative AI) – and be prepared to allow them to fail. Management can take the lead by working transformatively – openly working on their own skill acquisition and personal growth.

4. Providing clear pathways for advancement: This can motivate employees and give them a sense of purpose and direction.

How individuals can make their jobs less boring

People experiencing boreout can take matters into their own hands by:

1. Creating a more stimulating work environment. Try finding new tools or technology, or think about ways to do your work differently.

2. Making time for breaks in the working day. Do something to break the monotony, like going for a walk or stretch your legs.

3. Communicating their needs: Raising concerns about under-stimulation with managers or human resources starts with explaining the impact on productivity.

4. Setting goals and making a plan to achieve them. This could include seeking extra responsibilities or exploring other roles within the company.

5. Taking charge of their own learning: Signing up for in-house training or taking courses outside of the workplace can give employees ways to negotiate more interesting work.

If all else fails, it might be time to look for a new job. To that end, start by polishing your CV and learning new skills. An outside consultant can help to refine a search for a new post.