| Have you ever wondered where that email | | | | whinged, and surfed the internet for a new job.' Hugh |
| sheep-shooting game came from? It was probably | | | | has since escaped his underloaded environment and |
| created by someone who was bored at work. If you | | | | uses his brain to develop cutting edge technology at |
| ended up playing the game, you might be one of | | | | a university in Victoria. |
| them. Underwork, in the sense of having literally | | | | Hugh’s ex-employer may have experienced the |
| nothing to do while at work, is one of many causes | | | | common consequences of boredom at work, such as |
| of boredom and may be just as harmful to employee | | | | absenteeism, worker dissatisfaction, accidents, |
| and employer as overwork. | | | | reduced performance on vigilance tasks, horseplay, |
| What would happen if your working day only | | | | and sabotage, as identified by Professor Cynthia D |
| involved internet 'research', reading and sending | | | | Fisher, industrial psychologist and Head of the |
| emails, trawling through some self-guided learning, and | | | | Department of Management at Bond University. |
| stacking papers neatly for the umpteenth time? It | | | | Fisher and her colleagues studied enlisted men in the |
| might be fun at first, but eventually leads to | | | | US Marine Corps. Outside of the programmed hours |
| boredom. While there are more factors that cause | | | | of Marine activity but largely confined to base, some |
| boredom at work – such as personal | | | | soldiers did not report any boredom at all. Many, |
| predisposition, environment, task and situation - the | | | | however, were bored and dealt with the experience |
| sheer lack of work is a major contributor. According | | | | of having 'nothing to do' in one of two ways. Some |
| to a survey by Sirota Consulting LLC in the USA, of | | | | were destructively bored, drinking and brawling, while |
| more than 800,000 employees at 61 organizations | | | | others were constructively bored, choosing to go to |
| worldwide, those with 'too little work' gave an overall | | | | the gym, read, or enrol in a correspondence course. |
| job satisfaction rating of 49 out of 100, while those | | | | Whether employees are marines or mail clerks, the |
| with 'too much work' had a rating of 57. | | | | employer must take action to prevent underload, and |
| So what? Who are these dissatisfied people, those | | | | thus avoid the presence of underload syndrome, |
| who spend their day sharpening their pencils rather | | | | which may lead to absenteeism and workplace claims |
| than their wit? These are the 'underworked' or | | | | for psychological injury. |
| 'underloaded', and may be in your own office. | | | | Ellen Jackson and Rachel Clements described in |
| Underload can be qualitative, in which job demands | | | | InPsych magazine that the average cost of a |
| are too simple to adequately use an employee’s | | | | psychological injury claim is $27,798 per claim |
| skills, or quantitative, in which the employee | | | | compared with $18,913 for a physical injury claim and |
| doesn’t have enough work to fill the work day. | | | | the average time off work is 21 weeks compared |
| Quantitative underload can happen for a period of | | | | with 8 weeks for a physical injury claim (WorkCover |
| minutes, hours, or a day, to longer periods of weeks | | | | NSW Statistical Bulletin 2003/04). |
| or even months. Typical industries with occasional | | | | If only to save money, what can the employer do |
| quantitative underload include service (retail, | | | | about qualitative underload? Fisher recommends that |
| hospitality) and administration (reception, accounts), | | | | they ensure that workers have background tasks to |
| where demand fluctuates unpredictably. Think of a | | | | fulfil, such as improving processes, preparing for |
| supermarket cashier who is waiting for a customer | | | | meetings or helping another employee. Travis |
| to arrive. In a project-based environment such as | | | | recommends that the company should conduct a |
| engineering and research, boredom through underload | | | | psychologically based risk assessment, which is |
| can be caused by poor planning/scheduling, too many | | | | mindful of the health and productivity hazard of |
| employees, temporary downturn in demand, and | | | | underload. A staff survey should measure against |
| over-qualification for positions. | | | | key indicators of job satisfaction, such as role |
| These underloaded workers may not realise their | | | | uncertainty, lack of workload control and lack of |
| peril: boredom is not healthy for mind or body. | | | | support in the workplace. |
| Studies at the University of Northumbria attribute the | | | | What can an employee do about quantitative |
| lack of stimulation at work as a cause for 'underload | | | | underload? It depends on whether the underload is |
| syndrome' aka 'bored sick', resulting in more sick days | | | | short term (hours or a few days) or longer (weeks |
| due to depression, fatigue and headaches. On a | | | | to months). The following tips explain how to cope |
| physiological level, when the body does not | | | | with underload, to avoid underload syndrome. |
| experience rushes of stress, there are no endorphins | | | | Short term underload |
| in the system to provide energy, which then drops | | | | - clean up your desk and your hard drive and sort |
| the metabolic rate, leading to immunodeficiency. | | | | your documents into folders |
| As for boredom’s effect on the mind, the | | | | - finish any outstanding correspondence |
| worker can feel worthless, bitter and dull and may | | | | - build up social capital with colleagues or clients |
| also face resentment from overworked colleagues. | | | | - go the extra mile for a client or help a coworker |
| Jamie Travis, an occupational therapist with private | | | | who is overloaded |
| practice, nth Degree, sees underload syndrome as a | | | | - or you could always go to the “Bored at work |
| convenient label for a range of non-specific physical | | | | website” |
| and psychological symptoms arising from work | | | | Long term underload: |
| conditions Travis describes the psychological impact | | | | - use the time to do some learning: |
| of boredom at work causing job dissatisfaction. 'The | | | | - see if your company has on online university and |
| worker may ask themselves "Why the hell do I exist | | | | take a course |
| here?", when the job lacks clarity and purpose.' The | | | | - share your skills with others by coaching/mentoring |
| overall malaise from monotony thus increases the | | | | a less experienced employee |
| incidence of recurrent absenteeism and the | | | | - help someone with their job and see if you like it, |
| development of musculoskeletal pain in the future. | | | | and take away some of their stress |
| These health effects of underload can affect any | | | | - tell your boss that you can offer the company |
| level of job, as described by Hugh*, an engineer with | | | | more, and ask for additional responsibilities. |
| a doctorate in Telecommunications - physical layer | | | | You may even need to change careers; if the work |
| technologies.Hired by an engineering firm to do | | | | is enough to occupy most of the day, and yet you |
| testing, which was constantly delayed, the firm kept | | | | are still bored due to qualitative underload, then you |
| him busy with secretarial work - scanning, printing, | | | | may suit a job that is more congruent with your |
| binding and word processing, or as Hugh describes: | | | | skills, or where the pace of organisational life is faster. |
| 'Basically all the work that no one else wanted to do | | | | So if you find that you’re a sheep sharpshooter, |
| and the company didn’t want to employ anyone | | | | you’re not alone. The key is to make the most |
| to do it. It made me feel depressed and suicidal. | | | | of the downtime, or move on. |
| Instead of solving project problems…I gossiped, | | | | |