If you google phrases like “I’m bored at work” or “I’m burned out at work,” you’ll find endless result pages with employees sharing these experiences.
Now, once you look at the statistics, you’ll see quite discouraging numbers. Roughly speaking, every second worker (from 43% to 53% in different reports) suffers from boreout syndrome in the workplace. At the same time, 48% of employees grapple with burnout globally. Putting two and two together, you can assume your workforce is either burnt out or bored out.
How can you handle both in your organisation: how to help burned-out staffers and engage employees struggling with workplace boredom?
We’ve scooped up the best practices for dealing with burnout and boreout and, ideally, conquering them altogether. Yet, before we dive into strategies for each, let’s first understand how they differ.
Understanding the Differences Between Burnout and Boreout
Burnout Symptoms
Just like with power depletion in a battery, your employees may feel worn out physically and mentally. That’s what they call burnout.
The most obvious signs of workplace burnout are as follows:
- Chronic tiredness
- Stress
- Irritability and negativity
- Drops in productivity
- Sleep disorders, headaches, and frequent illnesses (consequently—more sick leaves and higher absenteeism)
In fact, 60% of absenteeism is linked to work-related stress, and 40% of employees mentioned burnout as the #1 reason for quitting.
Boreout Symptoms
Boreout at work happens when an employee feels bored or under-challenged for a long time.
Here are the most typical markers of boreout in the workplace:
- Feeling emotionally “numb” or apathetic
- Zero motivation and engagement
- Perceiving oneself as useless and unproductive
- Loss of passion for work
- Sense of pointlessness and low morale
Boreout typically provokes health issues like low self-esteem, depression, insomnia, and this list could go on and on. Besides, studies show that workplace boredom increases employee turnover and early retirement intentions.
Burnout vs. Boreout—What Is the Difference?
The major discrepancy between burnout and boreout roots in the opposite extremes: overstimulation and understimulation.
The most commonplace reason for burnout is an unbearable amount of work that overstimulates and overburdens employees. As a result, they overwork and burn out.
Exhaustion most often affects workaholics, who constantly think about their jobs and strive to cover more and more tasks, never assessing or controlling their workloads. It’s also inherent in companies with a culture of overworking—when staying long after hours is prestigious, and those who work till night are, sort of, workplace “celebs” and role models.
Then, there’s boreout, the “reverse clone” of burnout. On the contrary, employees are understimulated. And mind: it’s not about laziness—it’s about not getting enough meaningful, engaging, or stimulating tasks. Without proper stimulation and work involvement, your team members may underperform and feel constant dreariness. Monotony and unchallenging tasks can cause boreout in any workforce, whether in-office, hybrid, or remote.
However, boreout syndrome strikes remote employees the hardest as they are prone to disconnection and social isolation in the virtual space. But not exclusively. Boredom may attack workers during “no-client time” in professions like cashier, support agent, waiter/waitress, etc.
How to Prevent Burnout at Work
Encourage open conversations about mental health.
What if we told you that only 58% of employees are at ease when discussing their mental health with colleagues?
Others just shy away from it, feeling awkward and worrying about judgmental looks or comments.
Driving change in the construction industry, Gary Hemming, Owner & Finance Director at ABC Finance, insists on normalising mental health talks to spot and cut burnout symptoms in the bud. He remarks, “Today’s workplaces are still full of deep-seated stereotypes surrounding mental health. And they stigmatise it greatly. Yet, it’s possible to combat them by implementing mental health initiatives and creating a psychologically safe environment to talk it out and support each other.”
For example:
Pronto Hire promotes mental health awareness among heavy machinery engineers and operators through training and sincere talk circles.
Note: Openness is particularly vital for reducing biased burnout in the minority groups. A lack of communication and awkwardness hanging in the air caused by biases make it even harder to speak out. So, it’s simple: overcome stereotypes, communicate freely and openly, and reduce burnout in the workplace.
Provide more health and wellness benefits.
Let’s step into the guessing game arena—
There’s a strong probability that paid time off (vacation + a couple of sick leaves at best) is the only thing in your employee benefits package that allows your staffers to renew their energy pools.
If we’ve guessed right, you may need to consider extra workplace perks to support employees’ well-being and prevent burnout at work:
- Regular health screenings or check-ins
- Wellness stipends
- Employee assistance programmes (EAPs)
- Self-care days
- In-office massages
- Gym memberships, etc.
For example:
Apple has a fitness center at every office, where employees can practice anything, from calming meditations to intense workouts to work out emotional tension and stress literally.
However, Rodger Desai, CEO of Prove, argues that it shouldn’t be a single shot, like a one-time wellness stipend, but rather a “holistic, all-embracing approach” to your workers’ mental, emotional, and physical well-being. He shares, “At Prove, we try to encompass all the aspects. That’s why we diversify employee wellness services and offer Provers an EAP, Gympass subscription, and well-being reimbursement.”
Create relaxation areas in the office.
How can you help your employees to “refill the batteries” when drained or during stressful moments?
Have their back with a designated office space. It can be just a small nook for a short but meaningful break during a busy workday. Another option is to redesign your office and add a special room with a door sign saying: “Burnout Fight Club”—why not? (The first rule of the club is to “keep calm and relax.”)
Of course, there are tons of alternatives like these:
- Meditation or mindfulness zone
- Sound therapy room
- Reading nook
- Spa room
- Napping pod (take Google as an example)
- Snooze room
FYI: Nearly half of UK employees cite nap rooms as the most desirable workplace perk.
When it comes to office redesigns, David Speedy, General Manager at Workspace Direct, pinpoints an apparent trend among organisations. He observes, “More and more companies prefer designing biophilic in-office areas with nature-inspired elements. These can be indoor plants, wooden furniture, or even mini-waterfalls. Since nature has a soothing and therapeutic effect on people, such a natural environment helps manage employee burnout at work.”
Also, when making office renovations, remember about ergonomics (e.g., ergonomic workstations) to avoid employee fatigue.
Organise digital detox days.
Owing to digital transformation’s benefits in terms of business development, you can’t help but agree that it has brought one considerable drawback to the workplace.
Let’s not sugarcoat the fact. Today’s employees are cemented to their screens, especially in remote teams. And even when they take breaks, they get glued to their mobile gadgets again.
Balancing screen hours and trying to unplug from digital technology at least sometimes is another way to help your team with burnout.
Working with cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, Lifei Chen, Founder of buysmart.ai, says, “Naturally, we are in front of our laptops or PCs all day long. The trickiest thing? You never notice you’re tired until you gradually feel burned out from excessive screen time (digital burnout). A wise solution I can see—digital detox or ‘unplug’ days.”
Such “unplugging” days indeed help teams create healthy boundaries in tech usage.
For example:
The Force Intellect team took a digital detox day to unite with nature, refresh, and rejuvenate: “No emails, no phone calls, just being with nature.”
How to Fight Boreout at Work
Gamify employee training.
“Rolling the dice on gamification is one of the surefire ways to overcome boredom in the workplace,” claims Brooke Webber, Head of Marketing at Ninja Patches. “And if applied to learning and development, it can defeat the boreout syndrome altogether, accomplishing two strategic goals simultaneously: personal/professional growth and extra stimulation at work.”
Here’s the gamification effect in numbers: 29% lower boredom, 62% higher motivation, and 88% happier employees.
Moreover, he encourages employers and HR leaders to gamify corporate training with innovations for better interactivity:
- Personalised learning journeys with AI bots
- AI-based learning management systems (LMSs): Deel Engage or Paradiso LMS
- IoT-connected education stations
- NFT badges and rewards
- Mobile learning apps with AR (augmented reality)
- VR (virtual reality) simulations
For example:
Network Rail gamified employee learning experiences with interactive and immersive 3D-enabled games and quizzes.
Challenge workers—from day one and daily.
“I’m bored; I need a new challenge.”
That’s what 33% of workers said in Korn Ferry’s survey.
Do you challenge your employees enough? More importantly, do you challenge them across all the levels: personal, group (team), and organisation-wide?
- Individual challenges: Outlining a personal challenge for a day/week/month/year
- Team challenges: Creating challenging yet collaborative tasks for the whole team
- Company-wide challenges: Setting corporate goals and milestones for a particular timeframe or organising competitions between teams
From the legal industry standpoint, Chris Aubeeluck, Head of Sales and Marketing at Osbornes Law, shares, “From day one and every day, the Osbornes Law solicitors accept challenges to prevent boreout at work. They vary by time, scope, and intensity, from reaching a personal goal in law education to winning the Personal Injury Awards as a team.”
For example:
After only two weeks on board Osbornes Law, one of the personal injury solicitors was challenged to attend the industry conference abroad and prepare a short roundup afterward.
Plan engaging and imaginative activities.
For Murtaza Oklu, Owner of OMO Transfer, a DTF printing company, employee engagement is tightly bound to creative workplace activities. He recommends, “Encourage your team members to never let their imagination flow stop and engage them in fresh activities all the time to fight boredom at work.”
Grab the following employee engagement ideas with a creativity twist suggested by Murtaza Oklu:
- Skill-sharing workshops
- Innovation labs or mini-hackathons
- Reverse role-playing or role-switching when co-workers temporarily take on the colleague’s job duties
- Gamified quests or contests
- Themed days (“Collaboration Monday” for cross-departmental projects or “Think Tank Tuesday” for brainstorming)
For example:
The Polkadoodles team organises “Crafty Wednesdays” to unleash their DIY imagination.
Depending on your niche, design engaging activities specifically for your team by asking yourself, “What engages my team most?” and asking them, “What would you prefer trying/experimenting with?”
Don’t Let Boreout and Burnout Extremes Hit Your Workforce
Whether your employees are struck by boredom or exhaustion, you know how to handle both or chase them off early at the threshold.
Implement these solutions and join the movement for ultimate workplace engagement. Browse other blog articles to sip more tips and gain knowledge in human resource management. Time to Engage for Success!
Author: Brooke Webber – freelance writer
Photo credit: Stockcake