'Boreout' is the opposite of burnout – but can be just as harmful for workers
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- Boreout is a workplace phenomenon caused by little "stimulation" at work and is gaining traction on TikTok.
- Gen Z are posting about being bored at work and how working life isn't what they expected.
- Experts warn that boreout is "just as problematic" as burnout and can lead to quiet quitting.
Gen Z are new to the workplace and sharing their experiences of professional life from managing up to quiet quitting on social media, and now some are discovering what it's like to be bored at work.
The hashtag #boredatwork has racked up over 470 million views on TikTok with young people sharing the realization that working life isn't what they expected. One TikToker posted a video of herself spinning around in her chair saying: "When you get your first corporate job and you're progressing at a faster pace than expected and constantly have nothing to do for half the day. I'm bored."
Another TikToker who works at a hospital as a unit secretary shared a video of herself fidgeting at work in her uniform with text over the video saying: "Do I really get paid $20 an hour to sit and do nothing."
This feeling may be new to Gen Z but being bored at work is an age-old phenomenon that workplace experts call "boreout" and it can be just as harmful as burnout.
Andrew Brodsky, a management professor at The University of Texas, explained that boreout is when you're experiencing little "stimulation" at work.
"Boreout is basically often the opposite extreme of burnout, but also can be just as problematic in terms of our work experience," Brodsky said in an interview with Insider.
"What people don't often think about is that being under-stimulated can also create stress and negative feelings as well."
Ruth Stock-Homburg, chair of the marketing and human resources department at Technische Universität Darmstadt and an expert on boreout, explained that it is "a largely neglected phenomenon," at companies because workers may be ashamed to admit it.
"In contrast to boreout, burnout is something cool, because a person performs so much, which is so well appreciated in our society," Stock-Humburg said to Insider. "People usually hide their boreout."
Boreout, when left untreated, can lead workers down the path to quiet quitting and disengagement.
Boreout originates from a lack of purpose at work
People are looking for impactful roles more than ever now.
This is particularly important to young workers between the ages of 18 to 25 who say "meaningful work" is one of the most motivating factors that keeps them in a job, according to a Handshake report in 2022.
Boreout starts to creep in when workers feel like their energy is being wasted on menial tasks.
"People often talk about extrinsic motivation which is related to pay and promotion but there's also intrinsic motivation which is whether we are interested in our own jobs," Brodsky said adding that workers may not feel like they have enough variety, control, or autonomy over their own job.
Stock-Humburg pointed out that boreout doesn't just affect "losers" or those with low performance. Instead high performers could be prone because they can be impatient and desire exciting work.
Job crafting — also known as quiet thriving — is one way to overcome this feeling of boreout and it's "the idea that we can try and craft our own jobs to fit our motivations and what we're looking for," Brodsky said.
This could include mentoring other employees, finding ways to interact with people across your team, or even reframing the work in your own mind so that it's more exciting to you by asking yourself questions like: "How can I make this work more fun in my own head?"
Monitoring employees leads to 'busyness theater'
Some companies are keeping a closer eye on employees by using technology that monitors how much they're working. Such tech can include tracking keystrokes per hour or monitoring how long they're actually clocked into work.
Brodsky explained that boreout is often rooted in workplace cultures where employees are measured on how much they're working rather than the outcomes of their work.
In fact, 43% of employees in the US engage in so-called "productivity theater" for more than 10 hours a week by doing things like attending too many meetings or sending lots of emails to appear busy, according to a Visier survey in May.
"This busyness theatre can be a real source of boredom because someone's really just pretending to work and they're not actually using their mind," Brodsky said.
Instead, it should be okay for employees to take a break and engage in stimulating activities from watching a video to relax or going for a 15 to 20-minute jog so "you can come back to work refreshed."
Lotta Harju, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at EM Lyon Business School in France, added: "Don't assume that keeping people busy will cure boredom. It does not."
She explained it's a popular misconception that boreout comes from having inadequate work — workers can still get bored at companies where work piles up. Harju pointed to factors like red tape, organizational regulations, and role conflict.
Ultimately it's not just down to employees to make the work environment more stimulating for themselves. Managers also need to step up and have "open conversations," with their direct reports, Brodsky said.
"Very rarely are those in power asking those beneath them 'What can I do to make your job better?' They can find ways to make the jobs objectively better so those employees perform better. Even just asking employees for their feedback makes them feel more involved in the workplace, makes it feel like their voice is more heard."
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