Bored To Death – Inattention Can Be Fatal

Posted on May 22, 2010May 23, 2010 by Barry Williams

Boredom is waaay BeYawned Safety

A potentially fatal force resides in you.

Deep inside your brain this nefarious saboteur has laid mind eggs which are trying hard to hatch at this very moment. Once born, those soothingly silent baby demons will softly squeeze your eye lids closed while they casually choke the life out of your conscious comprehension.

And that’s just for starters…

Who, you might rightfully ask, is the fiendish foe challenging your entire discernment? Big, bad, beastly boredom, that’s who.

Fighting Father Fatigue

We simply must become more efficient at recognizing the detrimental effects of human disinterest.

Several studies conducted by various private and government agencies have determined that prolonged job-related boredom may have extremely adverse long term effects on both employees and corporate culture. And due to its insidious nature, lethargy can creep into any organization so gradually that no one recognizes the negative influence on group behavior.

Here are some of the permanent problems dreariness brings to a party:

Got You Under My Wheels – a 2004 study from the US Department of Labor determined that employees were 300% more likely to endure injury or death during off peak hours when boredom rules the roost.
AWOL: Absent Without Leave– when indifference abounds, the value of showing up is diminished and fewer folks will be signing in.
Tom Foolery To See You – lack of engagement initiates escalating horse play while quality issues mount and goal attainment becomes unrealistic.
Big Cliff Coming Up – apathy provides fertile ground for people to fall into frequent lapses of attention and deep trances, totally offsetting any ability of anticipation and pretty much ensuring that no one is watching the road.

Beat Boredom Brainless

Almost no one is doing anything about boredom and that is exactly why this can be such a great source of improvement to your enterprise. Check out these mind bending tools that kick could-care-less’s butt:

Boredom Breaks Bones

You Are Drooling – when do folks know they have been sleeping? Not until they wake up! Fighting boredom is like battling mosquitoes. The fight is won while boredom is in its larvae stage through understanding Circadian and Ultradian cycles. We ride them, you know…
Another Fire Drill?! – through better understanding of job demands and skill requirements, we can implement activities to counter the natural creep of drowsiness. Check out Mike Kerr’s 340 ways to put humor to work for $27 and employ some practical happiness.
Snap Out of It! – institute regular breaks and variable job requirements which enhance the frequency of engagement with other people or fresh situations in order to decrease pressure from continuous process.
Mock The Monster – discuss methods of detecting and beating the crap out of boredom and complacency because those bad beggars lurk everywhere. Organize regular lynch mobs to smoke out The Beast of Boredom so it can be drug from each person’s mind and hung from the highest tree.