I read posts about people quitting jobs because they’re boring or there is not much to do and I don’t get it: what’s wrong with being paid for doing nothing or not much at all?
Examples I can think of: being paid to be present but only working 30 minutes to 2 hours every 8 hours, or a job where you have to work 5 minutes every 30 minutes.
What’s wrong with reading a book, writing poetry or a novel, exercising, playing with the smartphone… and going home to enjoy your hobbies fully rested?
Am I missing something?
The problem is that I feel like the higher ups might some day look at who is bringing in money and who doesn’t and then think „Do we even need this guy?“. I feel useless. My previous job was very toxic about this stuff. They would punish me for not having any tasks even though it’s not my fault. Which is why I always make sure to tell people when I’m not busy and even suggest things I could do. Still, I get lots of downtime between projects in my current job. I kinda got used to it but it’s always nagging on me.
But bored? No. I always find activities to do. Play with my dog, do housework, read a book, play games, take a nap,… Even days with full downtime go by very fast. But I’m at home. It would be different if I had to be in the office and look busy all the time.
In the late 1980s, I had a roommate who graduated with a business degree and got recruited for a government contractor right out of college. She packed up her life and moved to the DC area. A month into her new job, the contract was pulled. But because she had a clause in the recruitment contract, they couldn’t fire her. But they had no work for her, either. So she had to come to work every weekday, 9-5. She’d sit at her desk with nothing to do. They didn’t ask her to look busy, just present.
She read about 3-5 novels a week. Over the next few months, we watched her get more and more depressed. She’d complain about her situation, but it fell on deaf ears. “Must be nice,” people said in jealousy. “Get paid to do nothing.” She became despondent in the lack of people’s sympathy. “Nobody understands how much this sucks!”
Eventually, she got a new job. Her mood vastly improved.
I’ll never forget that lesson. People need to feel useful, productive. Sitting at a desk with nothing to do, no purpose, no validation. It will destroy you.
Called boreout syndrom.
