Boredom at work: from burnout to loss of profit
In the previous article we examined why boredom can emerge at work. Today I will discuss its effects on employees and the employer. Though it might seem that boredom among employees is a minor issue, it turns out that it can have serious consequences.
Bored employees lose opportunities for career success
For employees, boredom can easily turn into:
- frustration,
- exhaustion,
- burnout.
According to a Gallup survey 44% of employees claimed to sometimes suffer from burnout at work, while 23% claimed to suffer “very often or always.” The prospect of doing the same mundane tasks every day only exacerbates feelings of dissatisfaction and discouragement among employees.
Monotony robs employees of growth opportunities. It prevents them from gaining interesting experiences which they could later share. In the current dynamic world it means employees have less chance to have successful careers, which can affect their whole life, depriving them of future prospects.
Companies pay for turnover and lose potential gains
From the employer’s point of view boredom sets off an entire cycle of unpleasant effects:
- work quality decrease,
- employee turnover and work cost increase,
- weaker reputation of the company,
- loss of potential profit.
Because of boredom and routine employees make more mistakes. Their work is negatively appraised by their bosses and colleagues. They’re less likely to get promoted, which again comes down to fewer growth opportunities. In the perspective of the business work quality of teams as a whole decreases.
What increases, on the other hand, is employee turnover and the costs of recruitment and onboarding. In the latest, 37th edition of Monitor Rynku Pracy (Job Market Monitor by Randstad) the top reason why people change jobs is still the desire for career growth opportunities (53%). Bored employees leave their job for a new one because they want more ambitious challenges. Soon other employees might follow in their footsteps. Frequent departures result in decreased morale and efficiency of the team as it loses the sense of stability.
All those factors affect the general opinion about the business. According to a Gallup study “52% of voluntarily exiting employees say their manager or organization could have done something to prevent them from leaving their job.” Disappointed employees might leave unfavourable opinions about their employer on various sites and discourage potential candidates. Negative opinions about a company further deter new clients from establishing cooperation with the business.
As it turns out, boredom can affect different aspects of the business’s operations. In the next article we’ll discuss what you can do to fight boredom and avoid its effects.
