Bore-out vs Burnout
I recently learned about an idea that has actually been around since the 90s, that I’ve seen in my clients and experienced myself, but didn’t have a name for - the concept of ‘bore-out’.
I’ve discussed burnout previously, and how to watch out for it, both in yourself and in your team. Bore-out can have a similar impact but has a different set of potential causes.
Take this example: A client I was working with had a new CIO come in to his organization. This new guy said all the right things, about how he wanted my client to be his right-hand, and be involved in various initiatives and to be a key part of his leadership team. In reality, my client was quickly sidelined when the new CIO hired former colleagues of his to take on all of the interesting projects.
We discussed this at length - he came up with some great strategies to support his new boss and to try to get involved. We explored his motivations, to try to hook into those to ‘save’ his role.
However, in the end, after trying to make it work, my client decided to find another opportunity elsewhere.
This is a classic example of bore-out - he was put to the side and not given any interesting activity to work on, despite his best efforts to proactively take ownership and drive things forward himself. He found himself frequently over-tired, not wanting to do the few things he did have to do, and getting generally depressed.
In fact, he started to display a few of the following common symptoms of bore-out:
Chronic fatigue
Inability to perform the few tasks required
Decline in motivation
Feelings of guilt or shame
Increased anxiety
Total disengagement
Depression
He’s not bored it’s just lunchtime
Bore-out Causes
When these symptoms start to show up, it’s usually due to one or more of these causes:
Being sidelined - As outlined above, finding yourself in a situation where you’re no longer useful or have minimal deliverables
Skills oversized for the job - People can end up in roles that are below their capabilities - while it might have been fun for a while, a lack of challenge can be extremely demotivating
Career ceiling - It’s possible to find yourself in a role where there is no prospect for advancement or promotion - the only way to move onwards and upwards is to move out
Trash can job description - This can be a position created as a dumping ground for all the stuff noone else wants to do
Position with lack of initiative and/or interaction - A role that’s isolated, requires rote work with little initiative, and/or has little interaction with others
Seniority through inertia - When you have been in the same position at the same company for too long
What can we do about it?
Well this is where things can get a bit more difficult. If you find yourself experiencing this, before you do anything, make sure you understand your motivational drivers. What’s important to you? Do you need increased autonomy, mastery, or purpose?
Once you’ve investigated that, to me there are two possibilities:
Talk about it - discuss with your manager what the options are. Can you take on some new, more interesting assignments? Could you explore a different role? What about cross-training into a new area?
Leave - find a way to exit gracefully and get a new job somewhere else.
For many the preferable option will be the first one, but if that doesn’t work, then looking for something new may be your only choice.
If you start to see these symptoms in a team member, think about having an open discussion with them. Explore their motivations and drivers. See if you can figure out a way forward together, that doesn’t result in them feeling that their only option is the door.
When you're ready, I offer 1:1 coaching for leaders who are looking to take their life and career to the next level. Send me an email and we'll set up a time to have a chat.
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