Boreout – when Boredom leads to Illness
By Andrew O'Connell, 15.12.2015, Approx. 3 min reading time.
Everyone knows the concept of “burnout” – the illness of top bosses and the stars. For many workers, it’s quite the opposite: too little to do or the feeling of being unchallenged – Boreout! Most individuals don’t even recognize that they have such a syndrome as they develop a behavioural strategy of believing they always have tasks […]

- Private surfing on the internet: as soon as colleagues or a manager walks by, the browser miraculously disappears and normal work is simulated.
- Faking longer working times: going as early as possible to the desk and leaving as late as possible.
- Inconsistent working habits: Small tasks are split up over more periods of time and are constantly interrupted or moved.
- Leftover work is taken home but not worked on.
- Continually emphasizing to colleagues, supervisors and friends as to how busy and overburdened you are.
- Feeling unsatisfied with the working situation and constantly feeling unchallenged and bored.
- Preventative measures: look for work that prepares you for joy. Work that doesn’t make you say “I have to go there,” rather “I want to go there.”
- Find a healthy balance: you shouldn’t feel overwhelmed (burnout) or under used (boreout). Look for tasks that will grow, and tasks that will help you grow.
- Private: As soon as you realize that you have time for private browsing at work, you need to devote more time to challenging tasks. You should do one thing when at work: work!
- Identity: think to yourself, why do you work in this company? If you find little or no arguments, then you have an indication that you’re probably suffering from boreout.