Are you bored at work?

Are you bored at work?
 
This is a bold question to ask out loud, but I suspect that you have heard these words uttered around the water cooler. I will even admit I have said these very words numerous times over the course of my work life. When I was younger, I often pointed fingers at a boss or office mates and laid blame. As I grew, I realized that my boredom was more about me and even more recently I have come to learn that the feeling of boredom has something to teach me.
 
“Feeling bored in your career is one of the most common reasons to make a career change. Boredom can sometimes be temporary, and other times, it's deep-rooted. When you're bored at work, it can be easy to blame the job. Thoughts like, “this job is boring,” and, “my director isn't utilizing my skills,” are common.” 1
 
Feeling bored can impact health and well-being as well as impact work performance. Being bored at work on a regular basis is a loss for the employee and a loss for the employer as both health and productivity decrease. 2
 
As a function of boredom, individuals may feel over-worked or under-employed, and become distracted, stressed, or disillusioned. 2
 
What can seem like a silly statement with little importance “Why am I bored?” is actually very important. One tool in identifying the origins of one’s boredom is developing emotional awareness about oneself at work alongside daily work experiences. Additionally, being assertive and motivated to carry out personal changes and not relying on senior leadership or co-workers to fix things is equally helpful. 1
 
Below are five questions to begin constructively handling your boredom.

1. Could your boredom be related to needing to learn new skills to do your daily work? 3
2. Is your boredom related to not feeling challenged or being asked to stretch your knowledge and current skills? 3
3. Do you not have enough work assigned during the day? Or do you have too much work to get done in a day? 3
4. Is social media surfing impacting your work life either with time invested or the impact on your emotions as you compare your life to the one on the screen? 3
5. If you could go back and learn anything related to your work, what would that be and why?

 
Taking the time to reflect on and identifying the causes of boredom empowers you to make changes. This compared to feeling the cure to boredom lives outside your control.  Of course, during your review of these questions, you might discover that you truly have outgrown your job and it’s time to move on.3  Either way you are empowered with personal knowledge that can propel you into the next phase of productive action steps. Each of us deserves, in all the ways possible, to enjoy our work and it is up to each of us to make the necessary changes.  
 
To support your efforts, the Northern Lights College CE division has various courses related to work skills, as well as lifelong learning - just for fun courses. In looking to find the balance between well-being at work and in your life is found in the education experiences you choose for yourself. Click here to discover what we have to offer.

1. Rachel Montanez, “Bored In Your Career? Ask Yourself These 3 Useful Questions,” Forbes (Forbes Magazine, June 7, 2020), https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelmontanez/2020/06/07/bored-in-your-career-ask-yourself-these-3-useful-questions/.
2. Michelle Cleary et al., “Boredom in the Workplace: Reasons, Impact, and Solutions,” Issues in Mental Health Nursing 37, no. 2 (2016): pp. 83-89, https://doi.org/10.3109/01612840.2015.1084554.
3. “5 Causes of Employee Boredom and How to Combat Them,” Fisher Investments Business 401(k) Plans & Solutions, accessed June 17, 2020, https://www.fisher401k.com/blog/combating-causes-of-employee-boredom​