Advice from the job coach
Boreout: Should I tell the boss that I’m bored to death?
Diagnosis of boreout: Undertrained stress can also lead to burnout-like stress
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Can too little work make you sick? And can you admit that? Job coach Reinhild Fürstenberg reports what she advises an employee who is affected by Boreout Syndrome.
By Reinhild Fürstenberg
Mr S. *, 41 years old, has been working as a warehouse clerk since he left school. For many years it was his dream job, with clearly defined work processes, many development opportunities and career levels. However, this process has stagnated for a number of years. As part of a restructuring, a colleague was hired who took over part of his duties. Since then, Mr. S. is no longer busy and basically constantly busy pretending to be exactly that. The longer he does this, the more he becomes entangled in a deep web of pseudo-truths and that takes strength. How can he get out of there?
In the meantime, Mr S. is plagued by symptoms that indicate burnout when he is googling: He feels exhausted and listless. He sleeps poorly, often has headaches and dizziness and, most recently, tinnitus as well. And he notices that he often has to call his boss in sick.
The course of the boreout resembles the exhaustion spiral of the burnout syndrome, so stress caused by insufficient demands is just as harmful as stress caused by overstrain – regardless of whether it is positively or negatively motivated. Mr S. is somehow embarrassing the situation in which he is now: He can’t say: “I’m so bored, it really stresses me out – it makes me sick.” He, who everyone knows how hard-working and efficient he is.
© Verena Reinke
Sense of duty and guilt
However, this is exactly where the misfortune begins. Boreout mainly records people with a high canon of values, a noble work ethic and strong morals. If these people end up in a work situation that does not challenge them, they take on responsibility and feel guilty. Only a structural problem makes the boreout possible. Their sense of duty and the performance orientation make these people perceive their situation negatively and thus set them apart from the “lazy” – the self-image can thus be preserved.
In the case of Mr S., the trigger was the restructuring, in which the new job and task description was not clearly formulated. In the new field of activity, Mr. S. could no longer use and live his strengths. After an initial phase of enjoying having less to do, he was downright bored. Now Boreout is not socially recognized, anyone who comes out is considered to be idle, which is why Mr. S. did not dare to speak to his superiors for a long time and now it was somehow too late. The way back from such a situation becomes more and more difficult, however, the longer those involved wait.
People need tasks
What would happen? Would it be recognized that he was not needed at all and would he then lose his job if it were discovered that he had hardly had anything to do for a long time? Or would he then perhaps become overloaded or overwhelmed with new work as a result? The so-called exit inhibitions derived from these thoughts make it difficult to stop the downward spiral, as a result of which the constant underload leads to physical fatigue – the opposite of the so-called flow, in which employees forget about their work.
Here it becomes clear how important it is to remove taboos on the subject at management level. Instead of ignoring the situation, a more suitable job within the company could beckon, because employees in the boreout produce avoidable costs. A clear job and task description on the part of the manager can counteract this development, for example. Regular staff appraisals also help, in which the workload and work results are discussed. In this way, undiscovered potential can be used in the best possible way, because one thing is now clear on the subject of boreout: People who know their values and potential and link them to their workplace and the company do not end up in the boreout. People need tasks and want to work.
How do I tell the manager?
Together with Mr. S. I prepared the discussion with his manager during the consultation. Above all, it was important to consider the fear of possible excessive demands: Mr. S. was convinced that he would not meet the new requirements and that he would lose his job security as a result – he definitely did not want to risk that. It became clear that the cause was a structural problem and that it was not solely his responsibility. I advised Mr. S. to openly talk to his superior and to explain why he approached his manager so late. And at the same time to show what a change in the content of his tasks can look like for him.
Two days after the consultation, Mr. S. spoke to his superior. He was more than astonished because Mr. S. always seemed so busy. But at the same time he was very grateful and immediately had an idea for a new, exciting area of responsibility for Mr. S. in his head. Happy endings are possible, especially in the boreout. Dare to do it and make yourself visible!
Here are my tips for you:
- Admit to your superiors that they have too little to do. You are not solely responsible for this. You don’t have to have the solution at hand either, but develop it together with your manager. First of all, simply address the topic and, if necessary, make specific suggestions.
- Don’t be afraid of suddenly being too busy – just like before, you can simply discuss the problem with your manager.
- Boreout often has to do with overqualification, high values and commitment – those are great ascriptions! It is only a matter of using these qualities differently in the current work context. One more reason to seek a conversation.
- Be aware that managers are usually grateful for your openness. They have no chance of helping you if you don’t show yourself with your problem. And maybe your manager has long wanted to initiate something new and thought that there was simply a lack of employees.
- Be positive: Your commitment can basically only get better!
* Case study from the advisory practice of the Fürstenberg Institute. The case was anonymized with the consent of the person concerned.