Burnout or Boreout?

You might have heard the phrase “burnout”, a not-so-novel concept, coined almost 50 years ago in the 1970s by the American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger.  Burnout describes a state of emotional, physical and psychological exhaustion caused by long-term, unrelenting stress. It is most commonly used to describe a response to workplace stress.

Less commonly known, and much more recent (coined in around 2007) is the concept of “boreout”.  Boreout describes a feeling of exhaustion, depression or lack of motivation associated with being consistently underchallenged at work.

The two concepts are effectively opposite ends of the spectrum – underwork vs overwork – but result in surprisingly similar symptoms.  These are:

• Lack of motivation

• Inability to engage with work or colleagues

• Chronic stress and exhaustion

• Irritability 

• Reduced performance

As with all things mental-health related, the pandemic seems to have caused a significant increase in both burnout and boreout.  Working from home, understaffing, challenging financial circumstances, changes to job roles and social interaction have all contributed, for many, to an increased dissatisfaction with their careers.  This might help to explain, in part, to the “Great Resignation” i.e. the phenomenon occurring globally in which employees are leaving their jobs in droves. 

So it’s clear why both burnout and boreout would be an issue for employees, but this is also a huge issue for employers.  Losing staff is disruptive and expensive – the average cost of hiring an employee in the UK is about £3,000. 

What’s the cure?

Whilst the symptoms of burnout and boreout are different, their solutions are generally polar opposites.  Someone suffering from burnout will usually need:

• Support managing their workload or a reduction in workload

• Support in structuring their working day, including breaks

• Mentoring, support or training

• A break from work (whether a period of sickness absence or a holiday)

On the other hand, someone suffering from boreout may need:

• More work or more challenging work

• More responsibility

• More colleague interaction or self-management

• Support formulating a plan for progression

In some cases, there may be no ‘cure’.  If an employee in a data-entry administrative role is suffering for boreout and looking for creativity, it may be that the role they are in simply cannot accommodate their needs and it may be time for them to move on.  Similarly, an employee suffering from burnout may not be under an excessive amount of pressure, and their role may mean that there is only so much their workload can be altered.

Prevention over cure

As always with employee issues, prevention is better than cure.  A complete lack of motivation and disengagement from work related activities is often the beginning of the end for the employment relationship, but it can often be salvaged if the signs are spotted and managed early on.  For employers this means:

1. Ensuring good communication and support from managers – lack of communication and support is often cited as one of the main causes of both burnout and boreout.  This may mean providing training for your managers to help them develop their ‘soft skills’.

2. Using regular appraisals or 1:1 meetings as an opportunity to address concerns, issues, discuss workloads, and hopes for progression.  This is even more important where your employees are working from home and you may have fewer interactions with them in which you might notice that something is ‘off’.

3. Encourage breaks – a lack of work/life balance is one of the main causes of burnout.  Homeworkers also complain that with no commute or division between workspace and home, their work bleeds into their personal time and they struggle to switch off.  By encouraging your staff to take their scheduled breaks, leave on time where possible, and not checking emails out of hours unless necessary, you can help them to achieve a better balance.

4. Be appreciative and give praise – for employees suffering with boreout, part of the problem can be feeling that their work is tedious, unimportant, and unappreciated.  Some jobs (or parts of jobs) are unavoidably tedious, but communicating with your employee that you understand this and appreciate their hard work can help.

5. Have the discussion – both burnout and boreout, whilst very common, are still relatively taboo in the workplace.  Employees are afraid to mention it, afraid that their employer will think they don’t appreciate their job or can’t cope with it.  By opening up the conversation with your employees, you will normalise these (very normal!) issues and encourage them to discuss concerns with you before they become fatal to the employment relationship.

Should you have any queries about the issues raised in this article, or on any employment related matter, please contact our expert Arvin Sandhu by email or on 01494 893 542.