And finally… bore-out

A French worker has been awarded €50,000 after Paris’ appeals court ruled he had suffered a “bore-out” from a lack of stimulation in the workplace.

And finally... bore-out

The court upheld the claim by Mr Frédéric Desnard, who said had so little to do in his job with Interparfums, the luxury perfume maker, that his health deteriorated.

French companies have long known they could be sued if they made their staff work too hard. However, this watershed decision means French managers must ensure their workers do not get bored.



Unlike burn-out, which results from overwork, bore-out has been defined by Christian Bourion, professor of social economics at the ICN business school, as a “syndrome of boredom at work [and] a source of strong suffering … that can lead … to depression.”

Mr Desnard said that his suffering started in 2010 when he was put in a post with little work to do.

He said: “No one cared if I arrived at 9am or 10am. I had to buy some supplies — a few sheets of paper — and then my day was over.”

Mr Desnard described the situation as a “daily humiliation”. He said boredom led to a nervous breakdown, which caused him to take seven months off work and resulted in his dismissal in 2014 for a “prolonged absence”.

The court backed his claim, ruling that Interparfums had inflicted upon him “boredom and a lack of activity” which amounted to a form of harassment, The Times reports.

After the ruling, Mr Desnard, 48, said the case would help others. “This is going to create an avenue for all those who haven’t been able to find the right word to describe their situation.”

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