Could half your team be silently struggling with chronic boredom?

StressSuperpowersNeed to know
Written By Lucia Knight

There are almost no conversations at work about boredom. I’m on a mission to change that.

Because, my research shows that it’s the most dangerously overlooked emotion in the work lives of 35yrs+ professionals in US and UK. It’s a deeply corrosive force, that when ignored erodes motivation, energy and satisfaction.

This article explores the hidden dangers of long-term boredom. And how to spot the exact flavour of boredom that is poisoning work-life happiness in you, your team and maybe even someone you love.

 

Boredom feels innocent at first. Chronic boredom is an emotion that corrodes work-life satisfaction.

Everyday boredom vs chronic boredom

Boredom is typically defined as “the uncomfortable feeling of wanting, but being unable, to engage in satisfying activity.” No surprises there.

We’re adults. We know that work involves tasks that don’t always light us up. Spreadsheets. KPI reports. Endless emails. And don’t mention back-to-back meetings. It’s part of the job.

But that’s not the boredom I’m talking about.
That’s not the boredom I’ve spent ten years researching.
That’s not the boredom I see in at least half my clients - professionals seeking to redesign their work for more energy and joy.

I'm absolutely fascinated by chronic boredom. The long-haul version.

You don’t notice at first. Until one morning, you wake up and think, “Something has to change.”

 

Why chronic boredom deserves serious attention

Chronic boredom doesn't just ruin your day - it can slowly ruin your work life.

And when it's bad enough for long enough, it spills into your real life, too.

It's not a medical diagnosis. No GP will write it on a prescription.

Yet I diagnose it every single day - in conversations with professionals in their late 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. Smart people whose energy has been worn down by years (sometimes decades) of work that long ago lost its spark.

If you're reading this, you may already suspect it's an issue - in you, in a colleague who’s lost their spark, or even in a partner who seems a little more faded than usual.

 

What chronic boredom feels like

 

Have you watched Boredom - The Movie?

Whether for you, or those you lead, chronic boredom goes far beyond light task-tedium.

It’s more like an ominous fog that settles over every aspect of your work life.

 

It can attack each of us in lots of different ways. Do any of these sound familiar?

  • Your Monday alarm feels like a personal Groundhog Day.

  • You move slowly, even with a mountain of work waiting.

  • You crave stimulation, novelty, something different - but can’t name it.

  • Your work blues now start on Sunday morning.

  • Tasks that were once dull now feel unbearably difficult.

  • Mostly, you feel tired - of the same people, same problems, same systems, same meetings.

  • You procrastinate just to create enough panic to push through.

  • Your organisational skills, that were once strategic and structured now whiff of just-in-time survival.

  • Motivation is low. There’s a heaviness you can’t shake off.

  • You can’t find meaning in your work, even when you're trying your best to care.

  • Your “can’t-be-bothered” levels rival my most disinterested teenager.

 

The Research

Download the full report here from the Never too old, Never too late community.

The insights in this article came from primary research, personally conducted which resulted in the Midlife Work-life Satisfaction Study.

The study participants included 1000 professions 35yrs+ who wanted to experience more joy at work. (Download the full report here.)

 

The 3 major flavours of chronic boredom

My research discovered three dominant types of chronic boredom in professionals in their late 30s, 40s 50s and 60s. These were different from previous research I’ve reviewed in the general population.

1. Novelty-absent boredom

The easiest to solve. But the most common.


Smart people doing good work are often rewarded by being asked to keep doing that same work. Over and over.

What begins as a win-win becomes a professional pigeonhole.

Old-school thinking from my time as a head-hunter said senior positions work out like this:

  • Year 1 = learn

  • Year 2 = implement

  • Year 3 = consolidate

But in most industries and disciplines, learning cycles are faster now.

Once smart folk have mastered the people, the problems, the systems and the processes, their brain slows down. Not because they’re lazy - because they’re under-challenged.

Their high-performance brain is doing repetitive work. That gets dull, fast.

 

Suggestions:

✅ Leaders: Note how long each team member has been doing their roles? More than six months…strongly encourage them to suggest new ways to do the same work better, faster, sooner or entirely differently. Encourage them to work in different locations and collaborate with new people on new projects.

✅ For yourself: Try a ‘Month of Experiments’. Tweak tiny elements of your role - location, timing, collaboration, methods. Break patterns. Season 2 of the Joy at Work podcast offers 43 experiments to get started.

 

2. Under-stimulated boredom

This one drains energy first, soul second.

Smart people doing overly simple tasks? Over time, it’s exhausting - not because it’s hard, but because it’s not!
It wears them down. It strips purpose away.

Entire teams stuck here become performance liabilities, not just culture risks.

Nia Trussler, a prominent headhunter who joined me on the Joy at work podcast told me:

“Talented executives are now accepting lower salaries in favour of more stimulating work.”

 

Suggestions:

✅ Leaders: Get deeply curious. Identify each team member’s 3–4 “Superpowers” (These are the activities they do exceptionally well - that spark deep satisfaction and joy). Then identify their Kryptonite (the energy-suckers). Then see how those match onto their current role. Under-stimulated people won’t stay long.

✅ For yourself: Map out your role. What drains you? (Kryptonite) What lights you up? (Superpowers) Speak with someone who understands both career transitions and human psychology.

 

3. Meaning-Starved Boredom

As we age, we crave more meaning from our work. It’s natural. Time feels more precious. We become more selective about how we spend or invest our energy.

If our work doesn't matter - to us, our community or the world - we begin to disconnect.

But when we do work that does matter, even in small ways, we stop “spending” time. We start investing it.

 

Suggestions

✅ Leaders: Ask, “Which problems in our business would you love to help solve?” Create space for people to connect their strengths to real impact.

✅ For yourself: Make a list. What problems do you care about - within your team, in your company, across your life or the wider world? Start small. Then speak to someone who can help you move toward more meaningful work. I know just the woman :)

 

But wait - isn’t boredom just part of any job?

Some people can do work others might find boring - and still feel alive doing it.

Why? Because it’s meaningful to them.
Because it lets them connect with others in a way they enjoy.
Because the work allows them to bring novelty, stimulation and/or meaning into other parts of their life.

We’re all wired differently.
What fascinates me might bore you senseless.
Just look at your siblings - same upbringing, entirely different work lives.

So if your boredom feels unbearable, you’re not broken.
You're just being nudged to evolve, to re-design your work to fit you better.

Catch it before it brings you down. Or makes you run for the hills (I ran for the hills, here’s my story).

Summary

Chronic boredom is silent, corrosive, and wildly under-discussed in the workplace.

Let’s change that.

For you first. Then for your team. Because, they cannot be what they cannot see.

Chronic boredom impacts energy, joy and long-term work-life satisfaction. And, it often shows up in your 40s, or 50s just as you’re expected to be at your most stable.

But it’s not permanent.
It’s not a personal failing.

And it’s absolutely fixable - when you know how to spot it, name it, and then design the kind of work that you might want to do forever.

 

What to do next…

Lucia Knight https://www.midlifeunstuck.com
Next

As good as work gets post-35? (and what the happiest 1% do differently)