Boredom and Repetitive Work: A Review

Abstract

Many people make the assumption that a repetitive job is automatically a boring one. This is not so. For many years, psychologists and other students of work behaviour have been pointing out that boredom is a subjective experience and refers to the individual's reaction to the environmental situation, whereas repetition or monotony is a characteristic of a task as perceived by an individual. Simply put, some repetitive or monotonous tasks are experienced as boring by some people. The aim of this article is to explore the sorts of repetitive tasks which lead to feelings of boredom, the effects of repetitive tasks on boredom and performance, and the methods that both workers and employers can use to reduce these effects.

Citation

Shackleton, V.J. (1981), "Boredom and Repetitive Work: A Review", Personnel Review, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 30-36. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb055445