IS WORKPLACE BOREDOM 'THE NEW STRESS?

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By Rose Hoare, CNN
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Modern workplaces becoming more boring, says psychology lecturer
Researcher found that military surgeons are disruptive when they are bored
Some people are more boredom-prone than others and tend to get angry more readily
rgani!ations can tackle boredom by giving employees something to care about beyond themselves
(CNN) -- Boredom is an unlikely new frontier in workplace research" Commonly associated with goofing off, taking
absurdly long lunch-breaks, and playing internet games on the sly, new studies suggest it#s something that affects
high-performing employees as well as those in menial $obs"
Sandi Mann, a senior psychology lecturer at the %niversity of Central &ancashire, in 'ngland, says boredom is the
second most commonly hidden workplace emotion, after anger, and believes modern workplaces are becoming more
boring"
(Changes in legislation all the time leads to bureaucratic procedures that people find boring,( she says" ()e seem to
be in a culture of having meetings, which a lot of people find boring" *here are a lot of automated systems now, so a
lot of the things we do are +uite remote" )e have more people working night shifts, which are more boring because
you#ve got fewer people to talk to"(
,n addition, Mann feels that, as a society, we#re becoming less inclined to tolerate boredom" She says- (.eople have
more of an e/pectation to be fulfilled by everything they do" Compare our grandparents# generation- there wasn#t any
desire to have self-actuali!ation and to reach their potential" *hey didn#t go down the coal mines in order to be fulfilled"
*hat attitude has changed" Now, we get people +uite commonly +uitting higher paid $obs for $obs that are lower paid
but more satisfying"(
0espite its proliferation, Mann thinks there#s little awareness about boredom, which she deems (the new stress"(
(,t#s as stressful as stress but, whereas stress management courses are 12 a penny, organi!ations are terrified to
admit their workers might be bored,( she adds"
&ast year, Mark de Rond, from the %niversity of Cambridge#s 3udge Business School, spent si/ weeks studying
military surgeons at Camp Bastion in 4fghanistan" 5e found that boredom had a destabili!ing effect, even on
otherwise high-performing individuals"
,n his first week, de Rond saw 167 casualties arrive, observed 89 amputations and 197 hours of operating" 4 good
proportion were local children" 4lthough the work is mentally and emotionally demanding, the surgeons are (brutally
effective,( he says"
(, don#t think ,#ve seen teams more effective than when someone#s bleeding out in Bastion" ,t#s almost beautiful to
watch" *hey#re so very composed: it#s so noise-free" *he problem is when people don#t have anything to do,( says de
Rond"
4ccording to de Rond, although there are days when no casualties come in, because the surgeons are on call around
the clock, they can never really rela/" 4s they wait for helicopters to bring in casualties, they feel guilty for wishing for
more work" *hey start to compete with each other, become critical of each other#s efforts, and become reflective about
the futility of it all" (4s they become unhappy, they become like big bears -- you $ust don#t want to be around them,( de
Rond says"
4 study on the link between counterproductive work behavior and boredom by researchers at Montclair State
%niversity and %niversity of South ;lorida identifies si/ ways bored employees might harm their organi!ations- by
abusing others, by (production deviance( <purposely failing at tasks=, sabotage, withdrawal, theft and horseplay" f
these, the most common is withdrawal <absence, lateness, taking long breaks= says the %niversity of South ;lorida#s
.aul Spector"
5e and his co-researchers drew on studies that show that some people are more boredom-prone than others" *hese
people are more likely to get angry, engage in risky driving, display aggression and hostility, and lack honesty and
humility"
4t the bottom of it all is resentment- (*o some e/tent these behaviors can be the product of someone $ust getting back
at the employer, blaming the employer for creating boring conditions, and trying to strike back,( Spector says"
5e adds that there#s little correlation between workload and boredom" (>ou can be very busy and still be bored" 4nd
you could be distressed even though you#re not all that busy -- if you $ust hate what you#re doing"(
0e Rond has also seen a kind of (e/istential( boredom manifest in professional services firms" (*hat#s not a result of
having nothing to do -- they have nothing worthwhile to do"(
*he solution, according to de Rond, is (disarmingly straightforward"( (.rovided everyone is capable, all you have to do
is to give people something to care about more than themselves,( he says"
Bastion provides an e/ample" (>ou#ve got casualties coming in who will die if you don#t do something +uickly -- that is
more important than yourself, at that point" *eams work incredibly effectively when that happens,( he says"
*o replicate this effect, leaders need to e/plain to teams (why what they do is important, who it matters to and why"(
(,t#s that that keeps a team focused,( de Rond says" (therwise it#s $ust work"(
0e Rond also believes it#s necessary for workplaces to engineer a culture of (psychological safety( in which (it#s okay
to ask +uestions"(
4llowing employees to air the doubts and an/ieties that arise when they are bored is, he notes, (a very frightening
thing( for organi!ations to do" (Most people would suspect that if you start +uestioning protocol, you then eat into
morale"(
But in an environment of psychological safety, he theori!es, (what you should see is some of the vulnerability of the
people involved" ,t#s where people can be okay with that, instead of being defensive about it" ,f anything, it should
really boost morale"(
Feel!" Bore# a$ Wor%? T&ree Reaso!s W&' a!# W&a$ Ca! Free Yo(
*hree sources of boredom at work and what can help"
.ublished on May 9, 8212 by 0ouglas &aBier, .h"0" in *he New Resilience
4re you feeling bored at work these days? )orkplace boredom can be as stressful and damaging as overwork@perhaps more so"
Sometimes it creates embarrassing situations, as it did for 3oel, a mid-level e/ecutive" 5e felt so bored that he snuck out of his
office one afternoon to see a movie" )hen it was over, guess whom he ran into coming out of the same theater? 5is boss"
,f you#ve been feeling bored with your work or career, you#re not alone" Curt )" Coffman, global practice leader at the Aallup
rgani!ation, has confirmed that- ()e know that BB percent of all %"S" employees are not engaged at work" *hey are basically in a
holding pattern" *hey feel like their capabilities aren#t being tapped into and utili!ed and therefore, they really don#t have a
psychological connection to the organi!ation,( he said"
Similarly, the Corporate &eadership Council surveyed B2,222 workers around the world, asking them such +uestions such as- (0o
you love your $ob? 0o you love your team? 4re you e/cited by the work you do every day?( *hirteen percent said no, no, and very
much no" (*hey are disaffected, because they are basically completely checked out from the work they do,( said 3ean Martin-
)einstein, managing director"
,t doesn#t take much of a leap to conclude that employees who are better utili!ed feel more fulfilled, more engaged: they work more
productively" ;or e/ample, this survey by Sirota Consulting &&C of more than C22,222 employees at D1 organi!ations worldwide- ,t
found those with (too little work( gave an overall $ob satisfaction rating of 7E out of 122, while those with (too much work( had a
rating of B6" 3effrey M" Salt!man, chief e/ecutive of Sirota, said ()hen you say you have too much work to do, other things are
happening in your head- #,#m valued by the organi!ation" *hey#re giving me responsibility"# *hat#s better than being in the other
place where you say ,#m not of value in this place"(
, think boredom with your work and career is also one of the biggest contributors to work-related stress@even in today#s
environment of economic downturn and career uncertainties" *he less you work at work, the more internal agony you will feel"
%p to 62F of all illness is rooted in stress, and much of that is workplace related" ,t results in G922 billion in lost revenue, and G822
million in lost workdays" )hether you are an employee or employer, boredom hurts" ,t casts a pall on the whole organi!ation and
creates a demorali!ed de-energi!ed atmosphere" ;urthermore, it blocks creativity, which will undercut a company#s ability to stay
abreast of the marketplace competition, especially in these tumultuous times"
W&' Do Yo( Be)o*e Bore# a$ Wor%?
So what causes boredom, and what can you do about it? , think there are three specific sources in the workplace, but also some
broader, behind-the-scenes reasons" ,n this piece ,#ll speak about the three sources" 4ll of them are debilitating" But knowing what
they are can help liberate you from the prison they create" ,n a later post, ,#ll address the broader reasons@a growing shift in what
people look for in their careers today" , call it the emergence of (Career 7"2( in our culture"
;or now, let#s take a look at the three sources of most boredom at work today-
"I just don't belong here"@3ulia said that to me, after reali!ing that she had (never really meshed( with her $ob" She wasn#t
critical of her company or her boss" *hey $ust worked in a way that was too plodding and methodical for her" ;or someone else, it
might feel $ust fine" *his source of boredom results from major disconnect, a mismatch between you and your work" ,t might be
between the $ob functions and your talents, your e/perience, your values@those features of yourself that enable you to perform at
your best" r, it might include that $ob#s potential for future opportunities" ,f the wrong mesh e/ists between you and your work -
your role, the $ob environment, the manage-ment culture@prepare to be bored"
)hat would help in this situation is, first, curtail the tendency to get hung up on feelings of frustration or resentment about the fact
that the situation is what it is" *his is where you can use the practice of (indifference( that , described in relation to intimate
relationships" ,t means indifference to your own internal reaction to the e/ternal situation"
*hat, in turn, opens the door to becoming pro-active" 4nd that#s an important part of building resilience, as , wrote about in my initial
post for this blog" ;or e/ample, start looking for a different situation: one that provides better mesh between you and your $ob" *hat
might be within the same organi!ation or somewhere else" Seek out helpful advice and direction from others@maybe within the
company or from others in the same career" 4nd it doesn#t matter whether they#re peers, more senior people, mentors, or even
people at lower levels"
.ut your energy in the service of creating a positive change rather than trying to rectify an obvious mismatch with a situation that#s
not going to change" )hen you view your situation impersonally, with (indifference( in the sense ,#ve described, you#re more likely
to spot a no-win situation pretty accurately"
"I've Become Invisible"@'laine was at mid-level in the marketing area of large media corporation" She fell out of favor with a
new boss because of changes in company poli-tics above her" Now she found herself essentially sidelined@assigned work
beneath her skills and e/perience" *his kind of boredom results from underutilization" >ou#re rendered invisible because your
talents, skills, and capabilities are not being utili!ed" Moreover, they may be misused or stifled"
'laine#s response to her situation illustrates what can help in a proactive, resilient way" She si!ed it up as a problem to be solved,
not a (poor-me( situation to be lamented or feel victimi!ed by" She began calling attention to the situation by asking for new as-
signments or reassignment" She stressed that she wanted to contribute more to the company as a collaborative member" 4t the
same time she sought out support from others in her network within the company" She became determined to find out what
prospects e/isted to change the situation" ('ither it changes,( she said, (or ,#m out of here" ,#m not about to coast along, hoping for
something that#s not going to happen"(
Contrast her behavior with Bruce#s, an economist who worked for a federal government agency" 5e told me he had become
(shelved( and was given no substantive work, because of a political s+uabble higher up the ladder in his government agency" So
he decided to read books, write academic papers which didn#t get published"""and collect his paycheck" *hat#s typical of negative
coping, which can fuel depression and diminished self-worth, rather than healthy, resilient action"
"I need more space'"@&ack of opportunity for new learning and development creates feelings of confinement, a third source of
boredom" *oday#s career professionals want opportunities for new learning, continued growth and having impact" )hen there are
too few of those opportunities, you don#t have room to stretch" >ou will feel mounting boredom" Resilience here is scouting out
opportunities for e/panding and enlarging your skills, whether in the same company or somewhere else" ,f you#re afraid to co-sider
doing that, you#re keeping yourself on a dead-end street"
4 good illustration of proactive resilience when you#re confined is what Roger, a 9B year-old engineer in an aerospace firm, told me-
(,#m always looking for a challenge that , think is $ust beyond what ,#m capable of" ,t#s a little scary, but fun at the same time, to
stretch myself" *hat#s what , need to keep growing"(
Haren#s another e/ample" (,#d been feeling pretty stagnant and uncreative,( she told me" 4s an e/periment, she decided to stretch
beyond her e/isting skills in a new direction within her organi!ation" (,t was a little risky,( she laughed, (because , volunteered to
take on a pro$ect that , didn#t know anything about"( ,t was a gamble for her, (plunging headfirst,( as she put it" But her boss was
supportive, and she saw that it was an opportunity for new growth" ,t paid off" She did well, and senior management rewarded her
for what she had achieved" She learned that putting herself in a situation in which she had to use herself in new, creative ways
produced new growth"
S$e+s Yo( Ca! Ta%e To L,era$e Yo(rsel-
*he first step towards freeing yourself from any of these three kinds of boredom is seeing your situation with a clear eye" Step
outside of your own narrow vantage point, rather than becoming trapped within it or blocked by feelings of frustration and
resentment" )hen you use (creative indifference( you#re better able to direct your energy to-wards finding a better situation" *hat#s
the (creative( part" ;or e/ample-
I &ist any situations, $obs, or creative pro$ects from the past where you felt you were at your best, when things went really well"
,dentify the resources or conditions you had going for you that supported your success" )hat kinds of people were your co-workers
or boss? 0id they help or hinder? ;rom that information, identify the specifics of the career and work environment that you really
need to be at your best, including which to avoid, and make a list of all of them"
I Scope out any opportunities for more stimulation or greater challenge that you can spot within your present situation or
organi!ation" 4sk around, or network to find things you may not have noticed yourself" Craft a strategy to pursue them"
I Meet with your boss and e/plain that you want to take on a greater challenge: or that you want to stretch in a new direction" 5ow
do you read his or her response in terms of your future there?
I Seek out an opportunity outside of work, maybe through a course, a seminar or workshop, or a volunteer opportunity, in order to
learn something that enhances your e/isting skills or that builds new ones"
4s you put together all of the above information and feedback, aim towards identifying the kind of work environment, people,
organi!ational culture, or type of work you need that energi!es you" &ist them, and compare them with your present situation" *his
will help you not only with dealing with boredom" ,t also helps prepare you for the (Career 7"2 upgrade( that ,#ll describe in a future
post"