THE MEANING OF BOREDOM IN ORGANIZATIONAL LIFE

Lack of vitality and creativity within an organization is often attributed to widespread boredom and the underlying lack of personal meaning members associate with their work process. However, exploration of the causes of chronic patterns of boredom in organizational life is often blocked because of the indiscussibility and repression of powerful negative feelings that surface with the experience of boredom. By developing a better understanding of the meaning of boredom in organizations, organization members can learn to constructively confront their boredom, thereby expanding their awareness and unblocking repressed feelings. The net effect of exploring such deeper meanings and unblocking them is the infusion of vitality and new personal meaning into the experience of work.