INTHEBLACK February / March 2026 - Magazine - Page 53
“Boredom can also signal that you
need to introduce changes to your
workflow, depending on how flexible
the working environment is.”
DR DRAGAN RANGELOV, SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY
your thoughts.
You might have
had a busy period at
work and need that downtime
to re-energise and reset for the next wave
of work you know is coming,” she says.
“It is about evaluating if boredom is a problem
or just part of the natural ebb and flow of work.”
Richardson acknowledges that in some
workplaces, productivity means constant
activity, but she says allowing time for rest
is beneficial.
“It might mean having space to let the mind
wander, think creatively or turn your attention
to a project or opportunity that you have not
been able to get to because you have been
tied up with other tasks.”
SWITCH IT UP
The Journal of Applied Psychology study found
that suppressing boredom at work decreases
productivity over the long term.
“Employees often try to ‘power through’
boring tasks to make progress on their work
goals, but this fails to prevent boredom’s
negative effects,” says Casher Belinda, one
of the study’s co-authors and an assistant
professor in management and organisation at
the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College
of Business. “Downplaying boredom on one task
results in attention and productivity deficits that
bubble up during subsequent tasks.”
Belinda and his colleagues found that instead
of soldiering on, a more effective method
of managing boredom is to switch up tasks.
According to their research, following
a boring task with a more meaningful activity
counteracted the “sticky effects” of boredom,
which can include disengagement and
decreased productivity.
“Effectively combatting the negative effects
of boredom requires us to carefully consider
the nature of different work tasks and how
they are sequenced,” Belinda says.
MENIAL VS MEANINGFUL
Sequencing tasks to manage boredom is an
example of what Richardson calls “job crafting”,
a technique that deploys small changes to make
work more meaningful.
“That might be changing the order in which
you do things — for example, completing
tedious tasks first and then rewarding yourself
with something more interesting,” she says.
“Or it might be recognising what you need
more of and making adjustments. For example,
if you are a people person who gets energy
from collaborating with others, but you are in
a highly autonomous role where you do not
have a lot of interaction, be proactive about
looking for ways to increase interaction.”
Cognitive neuroscientist Dr Dragan Rangelov,
a senior lecturer at Swinburne University,
says shifting between menial and meaningful
work is an efficient way of managing
cognitive resources.
“Tasks that tend to be engaging also tend
to be draining, so alternating them with boring
tasks can give you the opportunity to recover,”
he says. “Boredom can also signal that you
need to introduce changes to your workflow,
depending on how flexible the working
environment is.”
Disinterest in work can not only indicate the
need for a new challenge, but what form that
challenge should take.
“When you start to think about what is
next, don’t just think about what you’re moving
away from — think about what you’re moving
toward,” Richardson says.
“It is important to understand what is
behind that boredom and identify what
you need to learn and grow to feel engaged
and satisfied.” ■
READ
an article about
why boredom can
be beautiful
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