Do you get a little bored at work from time to time? That’s perfectly normal. But when does boredom become a constant presence that saps your motivation and makes it difficult to concentrate? That’s a sign of something more serious. Increasingly, workers are experiencing “boredom,” a burnout-adjacent condition characterized by chronic boredom and a complete lack of motivation.
Many people are familiar with burnout at work. Boreout is a little different, although the two can overlap.
Burnout is a state of emotional and mental exhaustion that often results from overwork. Long work hours, tight deadlines, and lack of support at work can lead to burnout.
Burnout causes employees to feel anxious about work and face high levels of stress. In some cases, these symptoms manifest physically, causing sleep disturbances and compromised immune system. Ultimately, this can lead to increased absenteeism and decreased productivity in the workplace.
This is where Boreout differs. It occurs when someone mentally disconnects due to lack of interest or commitment in their work. Unlike burnout, which often manifests itself through intense stress and physical symptoms, boredom typically presents as apathy and disengagement without the same level of physiological tension.
Boredom is no joke. When work feels overwhelmingly boring, it’s hard to stay motivated, and having to constantly turn in busy tasks can seriously affect your confidence.
Here’s an example: You’ve been working 11-hour days for two months straight, but the deadlines keep piling up. You can’t take a break, your stress is through the roof and now it’s even ruining your sleep. That’s exhaustion.
Now, let’s say you’re working your standard eight-hour days, but the tasks you’ve been assigned are so overwhelming that you dread going to work, and the quality of your work is declining because you’re so disengaged that you can’t concentrate. That’s boredom.
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If you’re overwhelmingly bored at work, you’re not alone. But you should know that it’s not just your problem: it’s also a problem for employers.
A study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that disengagement (which is a fancy term for boredom) and burnout cost American employers an average of $3,999 per year for hourly employees, $4,257 per year for salaried non-managerial employees, $10,824 for managers, and $20,683 for executives (1).
In total, the average American company with 1,000 employees earning average salaries may be facing losses of $5.04 million a year because workers are stressed, exhausted, and disinterested in what they are doing. And a big reason may be that workers who are bored and stressed are more likely to be distracted or not pay attention to details, among other things.
Meanwhile, Gallup reports that employee engagement in the US fell to its lowest level in 10 years in 2024, and only 31% of workers say they feel engaged at work (2). Furthermore, only 39% of workers feel strongly that their employers care about them as people.
Worse yet, regarding burnout, data has shown that working longer hours does not necessarily increase productivity. A Stanford University study found that productivity at work begins to decline once someone puts in more than 50 hours per week (3). And after 55 hours, there comes a point of diminishing returns where it’s not even worth spending any more time due to decreased productivity.
That means that people who work long hours not only run the risk of burnout, but they don’t even necessarily add much value beyond their standard work week.
If you feel overwhelmed or bored at work, it’s important to talk about it. Otherwise, your circumstances may not improve.
It’s essential to reach out to your manager if you’re feeling bored or exhausted. They may not realize what you are experiencing unless you speak up. If the quality of your work has not yet decreased, the problem may go unnoticed. However, it is essential to have this conversation early, before your performance deteriorates and your professional reputation is at risk.
To do this, sit down with your manager and, if applicable, a human resources representative and explain how you feel. But also, propose solutions.
If burnout is the problem, identify some tasks you’d like to offload and suggest ways other team members can share the load so there’s not as much pressure on you.
If boredom is the problem, identify the tasks that seem most tedious and ask if there is a way to reassign or automate some of them. Then, tell your manager what types of tasks you would prefer to spend your days working on.
You may never get to the point where you are 100% excited about every task you undertake. And it’s natural to feel stressed at work from time to time. But if things have gotten to the point where you constantly feel tense or bored, it’s time to talk about it.
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American Journal of Preventive Medicine (1); Gallup (2); Stanford University (3)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
