A quarter of office workers suffer from chronic boredom, with many turning to chocolate and alcohol to cope with the drudgery, according to a study by the University of Central Lancashire.
The survey found that chocolate and coffee were among the solutions that employees took to reduce boredom, while some respondents said that they were more likely to have an alcoholic drink at the end of a boring day.
Almost 80% of respondents said that being bored led to a loss of concentration, and over 50% felt it caused them to make mistakes.
Nearly half said that workplace boredom might lead them to leave their current job.
Dr Sandi Mann, from the university’s psychology department, said: “My analysis of the results suggests that the most significant cause of office boredom is an undemanding workload.
“Managers should look at ways of reducing sources of workplace boredom and at encouraging healthier ways of coping. Reducing the sources of boredom could involve enrichment programmes such as job rotation, multi-skilling and empowerment.
“Encouraging healthier ways of coping could include education or providing healthy snacks and drinks in canteens.??
“We also found that some people are far more prone to boredom than others. Managers might consider using boredom proneness as a tool when they are selecting staff or making decisions about staff development.”
Or employers might like to follow in the footsteps of the Employee Benefits team and limit the chocolate supply in the office to major events, such as Christmas, Easter, birthdays, returning from holidays abroad, bank holidays, Fridays, etc …
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