Stuck in a boring job? You're probably not alone
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According to salary benchmarking website Emolument.com, 81 per cent of those in legal jobs said they were bored at work, with the repetitiveness of “dull daily tasks” including researching court cases and rulings most likely to blame.
Project management was ranked as the second most dull profession, with only 22 per cent of employees in this sector saying they were not bored, while support functions came in third, with a 71 per cent boredom rating.
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The financial services world also fared poorly in the study of 1,300 professionals. More than two-thirds, or 68 per cent, of those on finance control roles said they were bored in the office, followed by 67 per cent for the fields of both consulting and accounting and financial services and banking.
Alice Leguay, co-founder and chief operating officer at Emolument, said: “Boredom at work is a key issue for firms trying to keep millennials engaged, especially in traditional industries such as accounting and legal jobs, which can be perceived as dull while employers attempt to give young employees the satisfaction of making an impact in their work life in order to prevent them from moving on too swiftly.”
She added: “Without an inspirational leadership figure, or an exciting professional challenge to motivate younger team members, boredom will quickly settle in. Surprisingly, according to our figures, CEOs struggle to enthuse their teams, having fallen prey to boredom themselves, probably due to being tangled in administrative and managerial processes with frustrate their desire to implement a vision and lead their business.”
Among engineering professionals, 64 per cent said they were bored at work, followed by 61 per cent of those in sales and 60 per cent of marketing and communications workers.
The survey also revealed that the fields of IT, human resources, education, executive management were far from stimulating. But research and development came out relatively well, with only 45 per cent of professionals claiming to be bored at work.
Emolument’s research found there was little difference in boredom levels when it comes to seniority within a business – 66 per cent of entry-levels workers said they were bored in their roles, compared to 65 per cent of chief executives.