Routine, loss of meaning, and no challenges, these can all be symptoms of boreout syndrome, which can affect both employees and companies. But it takes very little to prevent it. What employees often miss is praise, interest, and communication, even in the form of simple employee benefits.
Boreout syndrome threatens people who are underworked, intellectually unstimulated, or simply bored at their job, even if everything seems “normal” on the surface. It’s not about laziness, but about long-term underuse and a loss of purpose. And then comes the silence and a slow, internal resignation.
Attention, boreout is not burnout
The term “boreout syndrome” comes from the English word boredom. This phenomenon was first introduced by two Swiss management consultants. They noticed that a lack of work challenges, stimulation, routine and uninteresting tasks, and prolonged boredom can be just as harmful as chronic overload, pressure, and stress, the causes of burnout syndrome. Boreout syndrome is essentially its exact opposite.
Office workers, employees with routine tasks, or skilled professionals in poorly designed roles are the most at risk. It also affects employees in large corporations, where people often feel “lost,” as well as young newcomers who are confronted with the harsh reality of working life.
The problem is more common than companies are willing to admit.
The existence of boreout syndrome is also confirmed by the Employee Barometer survey, which Up Benefity regularly conducts among more than a thousand employees in the Czech Republic. Employees experiencing boreout may still be working, but deep down, they lack meaning, joy, and fulfillment. They receive a paycheck from their employer — but nothing more. There is no emotional compensation, whether it’s recognition, praise, trust, or involvement.
Companies still often neglect relationships, company culture, and a positive team atmosphere. Unfortunately, according to the latest survey, this is exactly the area where employees have perceived a decline over the past five years.
The syndrome can be threatening for both employees and companies. The employee may still be physically present, but internally, they’ve already checked out. They no longer want to change, improve, or engage. This can have a devastating impact not only on the employee’s health but also on the company’s atmosphere, team motivation, employee turnover, and employer brand.
The solution can be simple and even fun. Show it to your HR team.
Caring for workplace relationships and company culture is the responsibility of managers. The easiest path to success can be the use of modern technologies, such as Verso packages, a set of trend-driven HR tools for internal communication, motivation, and eco-friendly solutions.
Verso offers excellent online features like Praise, Polls, Ask the Employer, and Employer News, along with many other fun tools that employees always have at their fingertips in the mobile app Můj Up.
Sometimes, all it takes is a small step. Online praise is a great example. The Employee Barometer revealed that 60% of employees don’t receive a single word of praise in an entire month!
