Magnet.me on Unsplash" />Woman bored at work.

We have all had our bad days and even weeks at work but what happens when the feelings associated with these days just don’t seem to pass? Well, you may be experiencing something that two experts have dubbed “rustout”.

Writing for The Conversation, Sabrina Fitzsimons Co-Director of DCU CREATE (Centre for Collaborative Research Across Teacher Education), Lecturer in Education, Dublin City University and David Smith, Lecturer, School of Applied Social Studies, Robert Gordon University explain the phenomenon.

Explaining that rustout is on the other end of the spectrum from burnout, they explain: “This is when employees become bored, apathetic and unmotivated, often doing the minimum necessary work. This can result in them procrastinating, browsing social media or looking for something more stimulating elsewhere.”

Sound familiar?

So, what causes rustout?

The experts explain: “Rustout is mental and emotional decline caused by repetitive, mundane tasks and ongoing professional stagnation. Unlike burnout, which results from work overload, rustout arises from underutilisation and a lack of stimulating work.

“It can be amplified when a

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