• Do you know what they are, why they happen, and what you can do to prevent them?

• Burnout and boreout are increasingly prevalent in today’s work environment.

• While they may seem like opposites, burnout and boreout share a commonality: they both cause suffering, health deterioration, and damage to relationships.

Here’s an example… How do they start?

Family Business: A son or nephew is brought into the company, but no one questions their skills or takes the time to mentor them—no one delves into how the business actually operates, its needs, or its challenges. They’re hired just because of their last name, or at their parents’ insistence.

The young person wanders through different departments, curious but passive, listening for instructions, waiting for tasks, or at least some info. Everyone’s too busy, and they see the new hire as just a name on paper. Over time, motivation wanes. When finally asked to participate in something, they’re so uninformed and disheartened that they struggle to connect.

It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy: they’re deemed ineffective and just “there to fill space.”

Ironically, this can also happen to seasoned professionals. Owners or managers might be dazzled by younger talent, giving them the most interesting projects and support, believing they’re the future.
But they often dismiss older employees, assuming they’re out of touch with technology and innovation. As a result, they’re relegated to bureaucratic, unchallenging roles, without considering how to leverage their knowledge and experience to drive transformation.

• We know that burnout, the syndrome of work exhaustion, is now officially recognized as an illness by the World Health Organization. But today, there’s a new term gaining traction: boreout—which, as the name suggests, is linked to boredom.

American anthropologist David Graeber argues that this discomfort stems from “junk jobs,” especially in large bureaucratic, public, or multinational organizations, where employees feel they’re not adding real value, disconnected from reality, or from decision-making circuits.

• This syndrome remains under-studied but causes guilt, shame, and a profound loss of self-esteem. Some studies suggest that up to 30% of employees who report boredom at work may actually be suffering from it.

Burnout and Boreout—Two Opposite Extremes, Both in the Workplace

Despite their differences, burnout and boreout share symptoms: suffering, declining mental and physical health, and strained relationships. Their signs resemble depression: exhaustion, sleep issues, eating disturbances, and loss of sexual desire.

• You can cycle back and forth between burnout and boreout, especially among workaholics caught in a constant rush—they burn out, then get bored, and cycle again.

• What’s particularly striking about this new form of malaise is the sense of guilt: feeling absurd for complaining about having nothing meaningful to do. At its core, it’s often privileged people—those with jobs—they’re paid to do nothing truly important.

Sometimes, employers avoid firing these employees for various reasons. Instead, they sidelined them—an insidious form of harassment—assigning no significant tasks, leading to feelings of discrimination and devaluation.

And what about burnout?

It’s overemphasized socially and professionally.

• How can we not admire those who sacrifice themselves to advance their company? And how can we deny them access to support, sick leave, or treatment?

Modern society creates the illusion that higher education automatically leads to engaging, creative, and transformative work. But often, overqualified people are hired into routine, mechanical roles—making it harder to justify boredom, especially during economic downturns when many are desperately seeking work. Simplistic solutions like “change jobs” or “recapture freedom” only deepen the anxiety.

Many assume this state is rooted in personal depression.

But, in reality, the causes are organizational and systemic—they can and should be addressed. The stakes aren’t just physical or mental health; they’re also about work quality. When people become disengaged, they lose their responsiveness, vitality, and availability when it truly matters.

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To find purpose, each person should be able to ask their boss: What’s the purpose of my work? How can I do it better?

But this might seem like admitting ignorance about responsibilities.

• It’s on leaders to notice this wave of chronic demotivation, to stay open, and to explore these feelings with their teams. Simply energizing with motivational slogans or superficial experiences won’t cut it. Only when organizations invest in ongoing training, regardless of age, position, or background, can they grow—and improve quality of life.

Ultimately, when decision-makers genuinely seek to understand each individual's skills and talents, invite input, and give everyone a chance to contribute ideas and resources, no one remains just a cog in a machine. Instead, each becomes a vital, living element of a vibrant, expanding system.

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