Pay attention to boredom. (Episode 258)
Hunger is a signal to tell you to eat.
Feeling thirsty is a signal to you to drink.
And to feel bored is a signal to you to grow.
Companies often measure engagement and happiness at work to make sure people are enjoying what they do.
However, being bored at work is not necessarily a bad thing – it could also be a great signal indicating that someone is truly ready to learn something new and grow.
If you are hungry and you do not get food, then that is bad.
And it is the same with boredom: if someone is bored at work, and doesn’t get the chance to grow or learn, it is bad.
But picking up on when someone is bored and giving them new and challenging work will be just as rewarding as giving a hungry person food.
So, create a system to detect and cure boredom, and you will catch people ready to grow and get them off on a journey of self-development.
And the next time you are bored, ask yourself: How do I need to grow?
This text was inspired by a conversation with Oshana Dias, Chief People Officer at Fortude – a curious HR leader. In our conversation, she stressed the importance of making sure that people have a safe environment where they feel that they can share when they are bored at work, so that the company can pick it up and create new challenges for people to grow.
12
Aug