It’s not every day when boredom can spur a human being into action. But not having enough work – to the point that you’re chronically bored and unchallenged – is as good a reason to start a job search as being stressed out and overworked is.

Recent research by Sirota Survey Intelligence found that too little work can be just as harmful to employee satisfaction as too much work. “Feeling overworked – a condition that could lead to job burnout – is far more prevalent than being bored. Yet, both have harmful effects on employees and their companies,” said Sirota president Douglas Klein.

He points to these numbers from the survey on the attitudes of bored workers:

Job satisfaction: 81% of employees with “about the right amount of work” are satisfied with their jobs, compared with just 50% of those with “too little work.”

Challenging work: 71% of employees with “about the right amount of work” find their jobs challenging; for the bored group: a paltry 22%.

Utilization of skills and abilities: 74% of workers with “about the right amount of work” believe their jobs make good use of their skills, more than twice the percentage of the bored group (36%).

Feeling of personal accomplishment: 73% of workers with “about the right amount of work” feel a sense of accomplishment from their jobs, nearly twice as much as the group with “too little work” (38%).

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