2016 Udemy Workplace
Boredom Study
Battling Boredom Blues: How to Engage Today’s Workers

43%of U.S.
office workers
are bored80%

feel learning new skills
would make themmore engaged

2X

Bored workers
are 2x more likely
to leave

Top Reason Why Employees Are Bored?
Lack of Learning Opportunities
Top-performing organizations are driven byhigh levels of employee engagement. Yet,KEY TAKEAWAY

engagement in the U.S. is at an eight-year low
and remained stagnant in 2015, according

The biggest driver

to Quantum Workplace1. Business and HRof engagement is anleaders continue to lose sleep over this

employee’s personal view

critical issue that impacts morale, retention,of their future. Today’sand business performance.

workers desire to be

How can companies boost engagement andmore involved in shaping

capture higher growth?

their own experience in

We sought answers to this question by surveying

the workplace. Business

1,000 U.S. full-time office workers to understandand HR leaders mustcurrent levels of employee disengagement, some ofhelp people envision

the underlying causes, and how organizations cantackle this issue head-on.

their future career andlearning path in order toeffectively engage them.

1

Quantum Workplace, 2016 Employee Engagement Trends: Among America’s Best Places to Work, 2016.

In this report, we take a closer look at:

2•

The most disengaged segments of the workforce•

The consequences of boredom at work•

The causes behind worker apathy•

How business and HR leaders can drive employee passion and enthusiasm through learning© 2016 Udemy. All rights reserved.

Learn more: business.udemy.com

Boredom is a Leading
Indicator of Disengagement
Boredom at work is an early warning sign of widespreaddisengagement that can negatively impact an organization’s bottomline. “Actively disengaged employees cost the U.S. $450 billion to$550 billion in lost productivity per year,” according to Gallup.
However, if companies can address this indifference and boost
engagement rates, they will reap the benefits of enhanced
business performance. Research by AON Hewitt found that a 5%
increase in employee engagement is linked to a 3% increase in

KEY TAKEAWAY
Women, millennials, and entry
to mid-level positions are themost bored and disengaged
segments of the workforce.

revenue growth in the subsequent year.

Profile of today’s disengaged worker

48%
People in entry
to mid-leveljobs are morebored (46%)
than those atsenior levels

43% of U.S.
office workers
confessed
they are boredor disengaged
at work3© 2016 Udemy. All rights reserved.

39%

Morewomen
are bored atwork thanmenMillennials
are nearly 2x
as likely to bebored at workthan baby
boomers

Over 51% ofbored workers
felt this way formore than halfof their work
weekLearn more: business.udemy.com

The Consequence of Boredom?
Your Employees Will Leave
A high incidence of boredom among segments of the workforce directly impacts performance, morale, andretention. 39% of surveyed employees called in sick to work due to boredom. 51% of employees say they often
hear colleagues express feelings of boredom or disengagement. This can lead to a “contagion” effect withbored workers spreading their low morale to other team members.
Moreover, our study revealed bored workers are twice as likely to jump ship than their non-bored colleagues.
Replacing employees can be an expensive proposition for organizations. Employee turnover costs companies 16%of annual salary for low-paying jobs and up to 213% of annual salary for highly educated executives, according tothe Center for American Progress (CAP) study.

Boredom drives employees away

2X
Boredemployees

42%
79%

Bored workers are 2 times
more likely to leave a company
than those who are not boredNon-bored
employees

22%

Likely to change
jobs in next 3-6
months36%

Boredom is afactor in thelikelihood ofchanging jobsin next 3-6months**For those likely to leave in next 3-6 months

4© 2016 Udemy. All rights reserved.

Learn more: business.udemy.com

What’s Causing
Widespread Disengagement?
Top reasons why employees feel bored at work*

46%

44%

30%

29% 25%Lack of opportunity tolearn new skills

Unchallenging work that
doesn’t use my education

Not enoughto doSocial media
distractions

Too much
to do*Respondents could select more than one option

The biggest driver of engagement is an
employee’s personal view of their future

KEY TAKEAWAY

Future career opportunities and learning and development haveconsistently remained top engagement drivers for workers.

In short, boredom leads“The majority of employees do not see a path forward with their

to low retention, whichorganizations, and this has the strongest and most consistent impact

affects cost and businesson whether employees say, stay, and strive,” reports AON Hewitt.

performance. Organizations

As employees demand more from their workplace, business andcan choose to invest in

HR leaders must help people shape their futures at the company.

developing top performersA 2012 Harvard Business Review study found that dissatisfaction

who will add value to thewith employee development efforts leads to early exits. Workers

business today and tomorrow,felt that companies generally satisfied their needs for on-the-job
development but they did not receive enough future-oriented
formal development, such as training, mentoring,or risk losing them to growth
opportunities elsewhere.

and coaching—which they also value.

5© 2016 Udemy. All rights reserved.

Learn more: business.udemy.com

Tackle Workplace Boredomwith Learning Opportunities
Employees want control of their own destiny. Organizations who help their people envision and realize a careerdevelopment path will not only retain and engage their workforce, but also enhance productivity and business outcomes.

Learning drives engagement80%

agreed learning new
skills would makethem more engaged

61%

invest in professional
development because
it keeps themengaged56%““Career opportunities matter. Today mostcompanies are going through a ‘crew shift’
as boomer generation employees retire
and millennials and young people enter
management and high value positions.
Younger folks are motivated by growth, career
opportunity, and meaning,” according to
Josh Bersin of Bersin by Deloitte.

are learning skills
to be better attheir job

KEY TAKEAWAY
Corporate training and development
programs should target the most bored
segments of the workforce – women,millennials, and entry to mid-level positions –for the biggest impact on performance.

If leaders can tackle the root cause of boredom at work by helping their workers grow,organizations will boost engagement, lower retention, and ultimately increase their bottom line.

6© 2016 Udemy. All rights reserved.

Learn more: business.udemy.com

Research Methodology
The survey was conducted online in the United States by Toluna Group, on behalf of Udemy for Business,with 1000 full-time office-workers in September 2016.

AgeGender

51% Female

21–34: 34%
35–54: 38%

49% Male55+: 28%

Level
Entry to Mid-level
58%
Senior to Executive level
42%

About Toluna
Toluna is a leading provider of real-time digital consumer insights, and empowers companies to brainstorm
ideas, uncover new business opportunities and answer their questions in real-time. Toluna is transforming
the way marketing decisions are made by bringing consumers and brands together via the world’s largest
social voting community of millions of members across 59 countries. This real-time access to consumers
is coupled with its state-of-the-art, market research survey and analytics platform. Toluna has 21 offices inEurope, North America, Asia Pacific and MENAP. For more information: www.toluna-group.com.

7© 2016 Udemy. All rights reserved.

Learn more: business.udemy.com

About Udemy for Business
Udemy for Business is a forward-thinking new learning solution that consumerizes the learning experience at work
to address today’s biggest workforce challenges. Built for businesses striving to be at the forefront of innovation,
Udemy for Business offers fresh, relevant learning anytime, anywhere. The 2000+ high-quality courses taught by
the world’s leading experts cover a wide range of topics from programming and design to leadership and stressmanagement. In addition to its curated content collection, organizations can use Udemy to easily and securely hostand distribute proprietary content.
Leading organizations including PayPal, Lyft, Barclays, ON24, Century 21, and Pitney Bowes choose Udemy for
Business to upskill their workforce and drive learning forward. For more information, please visit
business.udemy.com.

8© 2016 Udemy. All rights reserved.

Learn more: business.udemy.com