It’s widely known that stress and exhaustion at work can overwhelm employees and lead to burnout, but fewer people are familiar with another phenomenon that impacts worker mental health and job satisfaction: “boreout.”

Boreout occurs when people feel unchallenged and under-stimulated at work, often due to a persistent lack of meaningful tasks and intellectual engagement.

“The term ‘boreout’ was first formally introduced by Peter Werder and Philippe Rothlin in their 2007 book ‘Boreout!: Overcoming Workplace Demotivation,’” psychotherapist Joe Nucci told HuffPost. “Boreout feels like slowly disappearing from your own work life while still showing up every day.”

He noted that boreout stems from underutilised potential, chronic boredom and loss of meaning. Your work might feel repetitive, dull and misaligned with your values ― leading to frustration, stress, guilt, exhaustion, anxiety and depression.

“When your job pays the bills but no longer offers the stimulation your brain craves, you’re left with a quiet kind of suffering: showing up without being lit up,” said Nucci, who is the author of “Psychobabble: Viral Mental Health Myths & the Truths to Set You Free.”

Employees experiencing boreout feel a sense of stagnation that worsens over time.

“It is, of course, to be expected that we all have moments at our places of employment that are not particularly engaging, and points in the day when we feel less motivated and interested in a task at hand,” said Courtney DeAngelis, a psychologist at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “Boreout best describes when we feel this sentiment at your job more times than not.”

Signs You’re Experiencing Boreout

So how can employees recognise signs of boreout at work? Below, experts break down 11 common indicators.

You feel a lack of interest in your job tasks.

“Some of the most common signs of boreout include feeling unmotivated, mentally checked out or simply going through the motions without real interest in the work,” said Keith Spencer, a career expert with Resume Now.

People dealing with boreout tend to feel restless and detached from their jobs.

“A sign of boreout is lack of interest in your tasks ― especially if you once enjoyed doing this type of work or the work has gotten repetitive,” said career coach Emily Worden. “You know how gifted students get bored easily in class and therefore need extra challenges to keep them occupied? I see boreout as the same way.”

She added that that this phenomenon occurs when you’re not challenged or can’t find meaning in your work.

“Boreout often shows up as clock watching or finding little ways to avoid tasks because the work feels dull or meaningless,” said Jasmine Escalera, a career expert at MyPerfectResume. “You might notice yourself going through the motions........

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