Boreout syndrome boredom in the job

Boreout: The suffering with the boredom in the job

07/15/2014

People who are overused in their job often suffer from burnout syndrome. But the opposite is possible, then talked about the Boreout syndrome. Overwork and boredom at work cause stress and can make you sick.

Become bored or under-challenged
Actually, Thorsten Gottschall always had a good job to do in his job. For him, there was rarely idle work in the disability work of a municipal administration in Schleswig-Holstein. But then in 2005 he was forcibly transferred from his superiors to controlling. „She wanted to get rid of me“, said Gottschall, according to a message from the news agency dpa. The social scientist understands little about numbers. „Suddenly, I had no task left, and it became less and less.“ With her book „Diagnosis Boreout“ In 2007, the two Swiss management consultants and authors coined a symptom that is slowly being investigated as a clinical picture. „Since then we have received incredible feedback“, so Rothlin. In contrast to burnout, they describe employees who become ill from boredom or under-stress in the job.

Especially civil servants, financial industry and office jobs concerned
In Boreout, which is caused by too little or wrong tasks, it is not about laziness, explained Rothlin. He speaks of the „Mar of sweet idleness“. The management consultant added: „There are people who are lazy and harm the company and their colleagues. Those belong dismissed. But who has Boreout, but is maneuvered into the situation. That is the responsibility of the supervisor.“ Boreout often occurs in administrative or service jobs where tasks are rationalized or done by software. However, other causes could also lead to it, such as the elimination of tasks after the merger of companies. According to Rothlin, it mainly affects civil servants, the financial industry, office jobs: „Masons can not pretend that they work.“

Thirteen percent of the employees feel under-qualified
In Germany, 13 percent of employees feel technically unfit and five percent in terms of quantity in the job. This emerges from the Stress Report 2012 of the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Baua). Torsten Gottschall, who would have liked to do more, said: „The stress was that I was no longer expected.“ He studied social work, trained as a psychotherapist, ran an old-age institution and used to enjoy working, but „Suddenly, I was a zero“. He sits at the desk for years, counts the minutes until the end of work and suffers. Surfing the net is forbidden, books read too conspicuous. Then he trains himself in Excel and Word, plays with computer programs and pulls out any simple paperwork. „So it looks like I'm doing something“, he explained.

Concerned deceive employment
Paradoxically, burnout victims often pretend to be busy, such as staring at the screen or telling colleagues about a mountain of work. Those who only stare holes in the air risk their jobs. But it is precisely these cover-up strategies that generate stress and can affect health. „I can not talk about boredom at a time when performance is the measure of all things and everyone is fighting for their job“, so Elisabeth Prammer. The Austrian sociologist has taken a close look at boreore biographies. Even if the problem is widespread, it will be taboo. The syndrome fits in our opinion in our time as well as excessive demands.

Overload and overload can make you sick
Gottschall reported feelings of worthlessness, lack of drive and depression: „I was fatally bored.“ Also Andrea Lohmann-Haislah from the Baua confirmed: „Long misuse can make you sick.“ According to him, underuse as well as overloading can lead to depression, chronic back pain and cardiovascular diseases. The Frankfurt psychotherapist Wolfgang Merkle had described to the news agency dpa in the previous year typical signs of burnout syndrome. These include persistent depression, listlessness, chronic fatigue, sleep disturbances, and the inability to enjoy life. There are also physical symptoms such as abdominal pain, upset stomach, dizziness, headache and tinnitus or tinnitus.

Many companies lack contact persons
Working sociologist Prammer explained that in many companies a contact person for the topic would be missing. Above all, experts would advise experts to engage in timely dialogue with the employer. „The most important thing is self-responsibility. You have to do something yourself“, so Rothlin. Employees would have to actively ask the supervisor for tasks. „And perhaps even unasked to work out new things, and not surrender to boredom.“ As a last resort, the termination. Torsten Gottschall defeated boredom in 2011 by quitting. The 54-year-old now works full-time in his own psychotherapeutic practice and is working hard. With a laugh he declared: „I am more busy than I would like.“ (Ad)