Boredom at Work in the Netherlands: An Epidemic of Sick Leaves Due to Boredom and Burnout
Imagine this: in the land of tulips and windmills, the Netherlands, workers are taking sick leaves en masse… not because they are sick, but because they are bored! Yes, you read that right. Boredom at work has become a real problem, with sick leaves due to boredom increasing 5.5 times in recent years, while absences related to burnout have risen by 28%.
Boredom as the disease of the 21st century
While employers in Serbia complain about sick leaves caused by poor working conditions and low wages, Dutch employers face a completely different problem – their workers are so bored they can’t work! Research by Arbo Union, the occupational health service in the Netherlands, shows that the number of days off due to boredom and lack of challenge has exploded. Workers complain about overly simple, routine tasks that require no mental engagement.
What do doctors say?
Occupational health doctors describe this phenomenon as “cognitive underload” – stress caused when a job becomes too boring, too easy, or too routine. Workers feel disconnected from the organization, consider their job meaningless, and their talents go unused. The result? Absences from work due to boredom and burnout.
Who is most affected?
Young people in the business services sector are especially hit, who despite good salaries, perform relatively simple jobs that offer no challenges. When such work lasts a long time, boredom and dissatisfaction grow, and sick leaves become more frequent.
Dutch employers in trouble
Imagine employers struggling with workers who don’t want to come to work because they’re bored! Some even practice paying a 1 euro bonus for showing up, which only shows how serious the situation is. Compared to Balkan countries, where sick leaves are often linked to poor working conditions and low pay, the Netherlands faces a paradoxical problem – too much boredom and too few challenges.
What does this mean for the future of work?
This phenomenon raises the question of what workplaces will look like in the future. Will boredom become the new disease of modern times? How will employers motivate employees to stay engaged and productive? The Netherlands might be just the first in a series facing this problem, and the rest of the world could follow.
Conclusion
Boredom at work is not just a harmless nuisance – it’s a serious problem affecting workers’ health and company productivity. The Netherlands has shown that even in developed countries with good working conditions, boredom can be a reason for mass sick leaves. Maybe it’s time for all of us to think about how to make work more interesting and challenging before we start counting sick leaves due to boredom ourselves.
So, what about you? Have you ever taken a day off just because you were bored at work? Or do you know someone who did? Share your stories, maybe together we can find a cure for this boring epidemic!
Source: Blic, Arbo Union, occupational health research in the Netherlands
