Are Your Employees Bored? Here's How to Fix The Problem

When we keep doing the same tasks over and over, it tends to get boring real fast. We've probably seen employees doing their best not to fall asleep at work and trying to concentrate on their job.

What are the signs of boredom in the workplace? As employers, is there anything we can do to help our employees who are bored to death?

Boredom could be a serious problem if left unchecked.

Spotting the bored ones

First, you should not expect your employee to tell you that they're bored. They don't want to give the impression that they're lazy and just try their best not to fall asleep at work.

But when they really can't take it anymore, they'll find a new job.

Which is why if you truly value them, you need to watch out for these warning signs:

They get distracted easily.
They're slouching and they have negative body language.
They're always tired and yawning throughout the day.
Because of the repetitive nature of the job, they tend to make silly mistakes.

Unfortunately, you can't really pinpoint the exact issues even with the warning signs. Some employees are just lazy and exhibit the same traits.

You will need to use your common sense. Are the employees just bored? Are their tasks repetitive and monotonous? Is there any challenge for them?

Once you've identified the struggling employees, you can take these measures to help them get back on track.

Fixing boredom

1. Give the employee more responsibility

In many cases, many employees are bored because their job is not challenging enough. You'll need to start giving them more responsibility by setting more difficult challenges, increasing the target, offering different tasks, and jobs.

Just try not to overdo it and put too much pressure on them.

2. Automate the boring processes

Nowadays, technology can help us automate so many small tasks such as reporting, copy & paste between software, forms, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

It will take a while to set up the automation process, but your employees will have more time to work on more important duties.

3. Give the employee a break

Let your employees take regular breaks. Maybe they just need 5 minutes to grab a coffee or have a chat, and then they'll be ready to continue their daily tasks.

After all, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

If you have a gaming console laying around, you could put them in the office to de-stress your employees.

4. Break up the routine

Some people love routine, and others don't. But even "fun" tasks can be monotonous if you keep doing them over and over every day.

It is wise to encourage your employees to shake things up a bit and include more variety in their day. Maybe they could spend the morning on one task and afternoon on another.

Or if you have a variety of different, highly repetitive jobs, get an hourly staff rotation going so no employee spends too long on one thing and everyone gets multi-skilled in the process.

Either way, a little break up in the routine could help your staff to feel a bit more refreshed.

5. Let the employee choose a project

If you trust your employee, you should give them the chance to propose a new project. There's a high chance they will choose something they're interested in that's innovative, impressive, and useful to the organisation.

It may be something you have not even thought about yourself. Maybe the marketing executive has an idea for a new campaign?

Most passionate employees will have some ideas they'd really love to spend time on. If they don't, give them some time to think about it.

6. Share the boring tasks across the team

The tasks might be boring, but one employee should not have to bear the responsibility all by themselves.

It's time to make it fair and spread the boring tasks evenly across their team. Keep in mind that just because someone does not moan about a task, doesn't mean they enjoy it.

Some employees will prefer to grin and bear the boredom, than frown. It's not fair to give all the boring tasks on an employee just because they don't throw a tantrum.

7. Motivate the employees with rewards

Most employees work on their daily quota just enough so they can earn their paycheck and keep their job.

What if you can offer them a better deal? There's nothing more an employee loves than to reach a goal and be rewarded.

You don't have to spend a lot of money to reward them. Set a simple goal for them and reward them with a free lunch, movie tickets, or vouchers.

With a reward in mind, they will be motivated to achieve their goals.

You have no idea how much a gift means to an employee.

Of course, every job has at least one boring task. We can't all love everything all the time. In the end, it's up to your employee to motivate themselves and make things more interesting.

But, as employers, we should be cautious not to simply shrug it off. Boredom is a real issue that could seriously damage your business in the long term.

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