Dive Brief:
- According to a survey from OfficeTeam, professionals admit they're bored at work for about 10.5 hours a week. The Robert Half company polled 380 U.S. workers and 300 senior managers for the survey. The weekly hours amount to more than a full day a week and about 68 days a year.
- When asked what they do when bored, survey respondents said they check their email, browse the internet, go on social media and chat with coworkers. Bored workers also get a little creative when bored with coworkers: they'll shoot rubber bands with coworkers, learn another language, solve crossword puzzles, pay bills, make videos and play ping pong.
- OfficeTeam also found that those from 18 to 34 are bored the most per week. Around 28% of senior managers think employees are bored because they don't feel challenged by their work.
Dive Insight:
Employers know that workers aren't performing their jobs 100% of the time they're at work, but they have to ask how many hours of bored activity are disrupting productivity.
Bored workers might just need a challenging assignment or more responsibility. While you likely can't erase all boredom, HR can ameliorate some of this by recruiting employees more likely to be self-starters, willing to look for projects when their own responsibilities may be complete for the day.
Employers can also lean into employees' willingness to be silly with each other by allowing or creating fun activities to encourage friendship and camaraderie. A little fun can go a long way.
But being bored is different from being unhappy. HR may need to have a more serious talk with truly disatisfied workers to ensure they haven't somehow fallen through the cracks and that all processes are working as they should.