Have you ever felt bored at work? Try to be honest with yourself, because this increasingly common sentiment isn’t shared by just millennials.
Studies have shown 55% of workers under 50 report feeling bored at work while 16% of them are “actively disengaged.” To put that in perspective, take a quick glance around your office. For every 10 coworkers, you can pretty much guarantee 1 of them is daydreaming of a Caribbean vacation or wondering what’s for dinner.
Workplace boredom is real, but is there an antidote? One recent study is gaining traction for recognizing one counterproductive work behavior, Cyberloafing, as not so counterproductive after all.
Workplace Cyberloafing is defined as the personal use of the internet during working hours. For some obvious reasons, surfing the internet during working hours is discouraged and viewed as disruptive to an organization’s productivity. Researcher Shani Pindek at the University of Haifa in Israel studied the workload of 463 of her colleagues and discovered something interesting.
Pindek determined that “these findings support the conceptualization of cyberloafing as a boredom coping mechanism rather than a form of counterproductive workplace behavior and highlight the importance of investigating the impact of underload and boredom on employee behaviors.”
While Pindek’s study continues to agree that extracurricular internet surfing is counterproductive, the biggest takeaway is that we need to broaden our understanding. Depending on an employee’s workload, those with extra time on their hands can benefit by keeping their mind sharp and engaged. In short, cyberloafing is better than being straight-up bored at work.
Do you find yourself totally disengaged and bored at work? You may be ready for a career change and your life’s next challenge – Eastridge Workforce Solutions can help. Our staffing service can work closely with you to identify the type of work environment where you will thrive and to determine what type of position is right for you. To find out more about how we can assist with finding an actual dream job that won't let you down once you get hired, give us a call today.