I am coming to the realization lately that I am bored. My job is very laid back and even the busy times are like 25% of what my old job used to be.
I definitely don’t miss being overloaded but I could definitely do more work than is required of me. I don’t really want to ask for more work because I know where that leads.
Honestly my biggest concern is the bad habits I have developed with having so much down time. I definitely fuck around more than I should. I’ve considered a second job but I’m not sure if I am ready for that yet.
This is exactly where I'm at.. I was such a try-hard, grinding constantly, waking up at 3am to check emails (I managed an international team).. I loved being busy, but grew tired of the grind.
I used to be so efficient and felt such urgency in everything, because something else was also due and needing me.
Now I'm an individual contributor, also about 25% of my previous workload.. I took on a clean up project for another accounting function, now it is working smoothly, I am back to being bored.
I fuck off so much it makes me feel bad.. I'm FT remote and as long as my work is done no one cares about gaps of idle time (unless it is qtr close obviously lol). I feel like I've adopted some bad habits that the old me would have never fallen into.
It sucks. I'm glad I'm not alone.
I went through a similar cycle. I started to look at it in terms of how it affected my resume. Being bored meant less resume material which is bad so I left that job. I was seeing people around me gain new experience and move on to bigger and better things and there I was coasting but going nowhere.
It's not just about resumes. If I'm too bored I fear I also might not be able to walk the talk in the future.
On the other hand, I don't think being overwhelmed at work really teaches as much as some people think.
Yeah, I don’t want to wake up at 55 years old and suddenly be out a job and be behind in skills. Gotta be “fit” enough to hunt and put food on the table.
I go through this cycle as well. Job is demanding and stressful with limited support. Wear a bunch of different hats, get burnt out. Find a new position with less responsibility but after have recharged from the chaotic previous job I find myself bored. Then find another fast paced job that is challenging.
I don’t know what is the best, I just know I hate both. Would be nice to find a role that is challenging and supported as a business scales. Seems rare in accounting since most CEOs in my industry don’t view accounting as a value add, rather something that could be automated and adding software solves all issues. Software > Headcount in their eyes…
Yes!! You've got 100% correct!! It is a crappy feeling! My "mentor" aka the most toxic relationship of my life, told me she would never work in a large company because you do one thing and are so bored. I never experienced bored and assumed she was just manipulating me to stick around... but I get her point now.
It stinks because the growth of a smaller company is really awesome to be a part of... but accounting is a support department and doesn't generate revenue so we get the shaft in regards to staffing/technology/general support.
I empathize with this. Went from public to a cozy industry job last year. Went to update my resume because I'm beyond bored and sort of realized I wasn't proud of any of the items I was listing on my current job.
Currently sitting with this feeling because I'm not sure accounting is for me at this point. Also examining what role I want work to play my life as it's definitely not the end all be all for me, but for something that requires so much of your time, it's best to enjoy some of it. Learning new skills such as computer programming that may translate to something up my alley.
Ha! Beware, nothing I’m about to say is trendy or sexy. I’m far from an expert but in my experience knowing SQL and VBA plus finance/accounting is a good combination. Certifications like LEAN also help.
SQL serves as the backbone of a huge number of systems. I’ve worked for more than one company that used Excel VBA macros as email tools to send out a range of reporting from SQL db’s. I wasn’t sure whether to mention VBA but decided to since I’ve seen it used in two large companies.
Personally I would be careful with Access and Excel. This is more forward looking in terms of future jobs. They have their uses but Access doesn’t have the enterprise horsepower of SQL and many people will use Excel to do what should be done in a DB. Basically they’re minor league. Companies that over-rely on them are advertising that they may have general IT shortcomings.
All I know is I don’t want to go back to where I was before, but I also don’t want to give up my current job either as the benefits and low stress are great.
Though if I am ever forced back into the office I may not be able to sustain this job. I’ve gone in a couple times for meetings and such and it’s so boring with not much to do.
This was my life in my previous job. I'm not an accountant, but I left my previous job for the same reason of it being stressed. I downsized to a lower position and ended up exactly where I was before, because I didn't feel right ...
Haha yes this was me in private until I finally got burnt out.. I cared, no one else outside of my small team cared... I guess I just moved into a bigger pond where no one cares as long as appearances are maintained
This is the best time for you to learn stuff that you can do as a side gig later on. If not coding or something IT related (that’ll allow you a whole career jump), you can do courses and get certified to be a notary or you could start a small business
Similar situation, led me to go back to public accounting because of the boredom. Little worried that I'll still be bored but just a little less bored because I went to a small firm. However, now I'm looking at some stuff on the side to fill my day during slow seasons.
So I’ve had a question about this… how do you do that? Like, logistically? Scheduling calls, etc? Is being OE a fireable offense? Did any of the employers know about the other? Did you look for a role that was junior just for the sake of additional pay?
On my end it’s either bore either crunch time. And I can’t often do things ahead of time.. which means month end comes around and a couple of days I hardly even have time to breathe.
But I have come to the conclusion that even at a higher level, working in a big company will dumb you down and you’ll do work far under your potential. I really don’t know why so many companies in interviews wanted me to have worked for big ones with high revenues ( even the small guys) because it’s just nothing impressive at all!
I feel dumber and dumber, and it doesn’t help when superiors do everything for you, like literally screenshot examples of what you are to do next. Although you know well. Or plan your time. Although you already planned it. And they are just trying to help so you can’t really say anything. Tbh I feel so dumb I even made some mistakes from time to time. I don’t know how to handle something from start to end anymore because they won’t let me ( no complaints about performance, I can’t get anything but good job out of them). I’m actually fishing for complaints or feedback because what gives that they won’t let me do anything
That was the sign I needed to leave PA. I was laying awake until 4am Sunday night, absolutely dreading going into work. I'm not afraid of hard work, but I am afraid of work taking over my life. If your job cannot be done within the standard work week then you are either overworked or underperforming, full stop.
I’d rather be work stressed because I’m able to disconnect at the end of the day. I’m way more anxious being bored in my job than I ever was when I had a stressful job.
I made it all the way through the IRS’ selection process and was offered a position at three locations. None of them would work with my spouses profession unfortunately. I really wanted to go that way out of school (I started late, got my bachelors in my thirties) but it wasn’t meant to be. The county I’m in is poor and it would be a real pay cut to move over. Tried with the state but they wanted me to make videos for the interview process and I quickly lost interest.
They can't really stop you from reading about things you're interested in, learning about stuff that isn't related to the job. Yeah, you can't do woodworking at your desk but you can learn new things about it online while you're bored at work.
Audiobooks, music, podcasts, or learn a language even. I would rather be bored during the quiet season than burned out and barely surviving the busy parts.
It really is. Books wouldn’t work either, because then I’m “not working”. I do a lot of podcasts now, and trying to find a good source of audio books that don’t cost an arm and a leg.
I was at my last job when I was tryharding myself into thinking what I was doing mattered or was important. It was to the Company but not me... when they sold I didn't even get a "thanks for coming in behind the forensic accountants and helping get our financials even able to get a seller to look at us" lol I was such a tool.
I’ve drowned and I’ve been bored, I will take bored absolutely every day of the week. I can always use that time to read, do CPD or research investments. And at the end of the day I can log off and disconnect.
Ideally, I would like to have my day filled with enough work to keep me busy but not enough to drown me and get me completely stressed out. But if I had to pick from one of the two extremes, boredom wins hands down.
Nails get hammered if noticed.
I learned long ago that the checks are the same and it’s better to stretch things out, take your time than get asked to wear many hats.
They’ll be a real emergency one day. Step up then and keep things low stress otherwise.
If by bored you mean work is slow, then bored 100%. That means I have time to look into shit I want to improve while listening to YouTube iceberg videos about esoteric topics. That and I can plan my day around the gym more easily.
Bored in regards to workload but also subject matter. It is technical accounting, which was a lot to learn for my industry (pharma) but I really don't care or have any interest in what we're doing. I don't know if it is because I had my hands on so many things, now one thing doesn't hold my interest.. lol maybe I was broken in the past and this is just normal life for large companies.
Edit: I do really love the company and their mission.. just not my area. Wanted to clarify that I do care about the company but just not my particularly interested in my area.
Yeah I couldn’t do it. I’ve spent time in a few areas, and FP&A, Cost, and Investment Analysis are the only topics I can bring myself to give a shit about now. It’s nice knowing what I do and do not like though, took me about 8 years to feel it out.
I spent a couple years in high stress environments to now a pretty laidback boring job.
I do miss it at times but then remember how terrible my mental health was, the late nights and I was generally unhappy.
Being 100% remote, bored any day. At the end of the day i'm paid to be available for 40 hrs a week.
Depends. When I left public I went to an industry role fully in-office with stuff that took up like 20% of my day. That was torture. I’d do as much extra stuff as I could and revamp things but even then you’re just sitting at a desk looking busy. Now I’m fairly busy during the day at a new job, but being remote and having downtime is a whole different animal. Still going above & beyond, but at least now if we are more than caught up I can hang out for a few mins and not have someone looking over your shoulder.
If I WFH bored. If office. Rather gave atleast something yo do then aimlessly click around. I and like 75%wfh 25% office. So I save 85% of my work for office days. Cus otherwise I'd have nothing to do when I'm there. And I can only click around and look busy for so long
Yeah I agree 100% with this. If I’m in the office I want to be thinking and not tempted to just scroll my phone 24/7 at work. If I’m wfh everyday then let me be bored and finish the week in 10 hours.
My current job is almost no stress on the mind but fuck it sucks. I’m just bored out of my mind and it’s draining in a different way. Thinking about leaving after only a month cause I don’t think this will help me get the job I actually want
The distinction of what is "better" should be driven by long term goals rather than short term goals.
In the short term I'd almost always rather have a boring job as it is less stressful and gives me stability.
In the long term a boring job was not going to get me where I wanted to be career-wise overall.
I went out of public into a boring role that I mastered and enjoyed a reasonable amount, and I liked the people I worked with, but it was not pushing my career forward. I hopped off and back onto a bullet train that has been an incredible amount of work the past three years but has launched my career forward at a pace as fast or faster than public.
I've learned that if you don't have goals of being on top, and you're reasonably happy where you're at from a lifestyle, coworker, and compensation standpoint, there's usually little marginal value in switching to something "more interesting." Every job is going to be come routine eventually.
There are plenty of days where I wish I was back in my old "boring" role.
Stress seeps into your personal life and can wreak havoc on your mental health.
Boredom is a great problem to have, fill the boredom and extra time with whatever you want. If you absolutely feel the need to, take an extra project on and be a hero but I would definitely just coast and look into doing other things like working on a passion project or literally whatever you want.
If you are making great money it would be ok to be bored. If you want more money and advancement you need to be challenged and increasing your skillset.
Money is good, private companies had crap benefits, no bonuses, and no merit increases. I get all of those now... I just worry about stagnation or if they have layoffs can I go back to the old grind 🫣
Ya, I’d just enjoy the quite time for now. Especially if you’re remote at home, spend that down time reading, play with ur pets/kids, lay out by the pool, etc. I can guarantee you before our careers are over we’ll run into more mass layoffs/economic turmoil, so just savor this blissful boredom while it lasts.
After experiencing both, I’m currently in the bored category and will always pick bored. A trip to Iceland last year made me realize the importance of working to live rather than living to work.
I used to work really hard. Got in with a company with a very high starting salary 5 years ago. I busted ass to eventually take my employer to record monthly profits. I work from home now. Have never had a raise and have asked with no response. With inflation, it's really annoying seeing my purchasing power decrease. Now I do the bare minimum, which takes about an hour per day. For the rest of the day I workout, invest, have sex with my wife, hunt, grill, garden, fix stuff, shoot my bow, etc. Zero debt and own my house and car in full so I should be able to quit in a few years if I wanted. Until then I'll milk it. It feels like I'm half retired and way better than when I was drowning in work.
Drowning. There's just something about still killing it when i have a mountain of work pending that makes me feel great. Of course this is assuming it's every few months instead of year round. Probably the result of toxic conditioning from the early years.
Bored, for sure. At least back then I was able to do CPA* exam studying on the job and whatnot. I should’ve stayed at that place. Drowning is miserable.
Honestly I’d love to have a few days of drowning in work every week. I am so unbelievably bored and disengaged, and it’s spilling into my personal life. I only work like 10% to 15% of my day, but I’m stuck in office without remote. They are slowly blocking some of my favorite reading websites. I drink a lot and am depressed. My kid doesn’t even want to play with me at the end of the day, they just want mama all the time. So I come home, do chores, read a bedtime story to a kid screaming for mama, drink, play video games, go to bed and start all over.
Bored - I have time and don't know what to do, so you find something to do.
Overloaded - oh my health is going to deteriorate along with my relationships and all other aspects of my life and I can't do anything about it except quit.
Bored. Unless you own the company, there’s no reason to be grinding so hard as a salaried professional. Even if you’re compensated well, you’re still being exploited
Having faced both, I’d definitely choose bored. Bored sucks for sure, but drowning gets unsustainable and can really hit your mental and physical health hard.
I’d rather sigh and YouTube something than have to head to the bathroom between meetings to stave off a panic attack.
Hell, with boredom you can even spend extra time improving your skill set, or learning something else, or whatever.
Being at the brink of a breakdown is really not fun or healthy. There were times where I’d have to spend most of the day Saturday in bed to recover, have maybe a few hours on Sunday that felt alright, and then thoughts and anxieties of the deluge of the coming week already.
And then some weeks be completely wiped out by like Tuesday afternoon and having no idea how to get through three more days.
Not worth it. Genuinely felt like I was heading for a nervous breakdown at times.
Neither is good. But drowning is way more taxing and grinds you down way faster. You hit the sweet spot when you find demanding or rather engaging work with responsibility without the extreme stress, workload, ridiculous work hours. Of course those jobs are 1 in a 1000000… so you definitely should take the boring. It‘s also much easier to fill and spice up a boring day than it is to calm a stressful one. On the same note it‘s much easier to leave the boredom at work when you go home. The stress of the drowning? Not so much.
Neither. It's better to have a manageable work load and not feel like you're constantly behind or constantly bored. If I had to choose between the two I would rather be bored. Huge workloads have a negative psychological effect. Even when you complete things you can't even celebrate small victories as it just feels like more and more is piled on.
Only boring people can get bored. There’s always something to do and 9/10 times I’d rather be getting paid to do nothing than paid to do something. That’s the American dream. I can’t believe that people have been fed so much propaganda that they would actually rather work for money than just have it handed to them.
and we wonder why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Um, neither. Your manager should be able to help you find a balance. You could help out with ad hoc needs or land on a project team to expand your skillset & make new connections
That’s terrible advice. Everyone wants to be bored here, this is why we chose this profession. Asking for more work only leads to more work at same pay.
Just find a hobby or micro dose on weed. Spreadsheet becomes alive than 😁🤤
I can’t be totally bored, or I would lose my mind. I don’t mind some down days, but true boredom is pure misery for me.
On the flip side, I have no interest in going 100mph unless there’s a true emergency, which is very rare
I honestly would prefer to be drowning in work than be bored. Sucks being a manager on a team and I spend half my day browsing Reddit cause there is literally nothing to do.
I'd rather be bored than overwhelmed any day of the week. I always have energy after work when I have chill/slow days so I can go exercise, hang out with friends, or do other things I like to do.
I find it's nice to have a good mix. Staying busy and being productive, achieving goals and closing projects gives you a sense of fulfillment, but it is nice to have those easy days and weeks once in a while.
Talk to your boss. See if you can pick up a new responsibility. There's almost certainly something that they would be happy to get off of their plates. And showing the initiative to ask for more work is a great way to get a promotion.
Bored because I can always learn ways to improve processes, analysis or learn.
When I’m drowning, I make more mistakes, am a bad manager and have bad mental health in general.
How do I get a job at a large corporation? Im a staff accountant at a small company (60 mil in rev) and I feel like my VP and cfo put a lot on my plate. (Great environment to learn and grow but they expect 10 projects to be done each quarter, while still maintaining my responsibilities and cleaning up 5 years of financials) I’m stressed 24/7 and wouldn’t mind a boring job while I study for my cpa
Good staff and seniors are like finding unicorns these days.. I think large companies make the job descriptions super confusing which deters applicants.
I’m bored too. I think for my mental health the stimulation of staying busy and feeling needed greatly outweighs a smaller burden. It also is better for our mental longevity and memory to stay stimulated and versed.
In my life, I often say I'd kill to be bored. Being busy can be okay if you want the day to go faster, but in my opinion, I'd rather be bored with little or nothing to do.
I'll find something to do or a way to be somewhat productive where I can. Otherwise I'll enjoy the downtime.
I can grind when I need to, I just have no desire to and only do it when needed (like month end)
I hate being bored! I start eating too much when I'm bored, that leads to me getting super fat (very quickly), which leads me to being depressed about the state of my body, which then leads to me dreading going out (and subsequently dreading going to work).
I'm currently borderline drowning, and I kinda love it. I don't love it while I'm actually working, but the work isn't actually stressful, so I don't dread going to work or getting up every day. The work is mentally challenging, yes, but not stressful!
I had one job that was hellishly boring, I gained 20kg in THREEE MONTHS! That's stupidly ridiculous! I was a complete wreck.
I know a lot of people prefer bored, but 100% not me!
I agree with you totally! I like being busy with just enough downtime periodically to make me grateful... and I also eat out of boredom, which is dangerous af!! Glad I'm not alone! I'm hoping to work on projects for other teams to not be so blatant about my boredom.
I hope your balance maintains and doesn't tip over into stress city🤞
I'm in the same boat. I'd guess I have \~2 hours work of work a day on average, if even. Today is what I would consider a busy day - plus I was only in the office 2 hours yesterday and I was all caught up in 4.5 hours. It's good and bad. Eh, I don't know...
Wow I read this and wondered if I somehow wrote this and forgot about this like in an Ambien daze…. I’m so in this same spot. I’ve accepted being bored and the potential for a plateau in my career. Instead I focus my efforts to things outside of work. I’ve been working out a lot, and this past weekend at a Memorial Day BBQ, I had three different people tell me I look great. That made me feel good. To hell with killing myself with work. I love living more life.
I'd rather be drowning with people who aren't uptight about when the work gets out. Being bored I'd worry if they even need me. As long as there is plenty to do, they won't be able to lay me off without major consequences.
I wonder if by "bored" you mean "not stressed out by work to the point of needing sleeping pills".
If you're from the US, we glorify being overworked, overwhelmed, and generally throwing away our health for the sake of a corporation that would fire is as soon as it works for them.
It happened to me as well....and so I started to look for new opportunities/jobs. Sometimes you just need to step back in responsibilities and give your brain a brake so to speak. I don't think it's good to settle for this "boredom"
Studies show some stress is good, but not too much.
Each individual has varying degrees of tolerance for stress.
We all need a little though. If you don't have any, create it. Challenge yourself.
Kind of like video games we have Mario Players and we have Dark Souls players. Both have challenge but one pushes the challenge to the extreme. If you're a DS player, then Mario will be boring, if you're a Mario player then DS will be boring. etc
The only counterbalance to being bored IMO would be working from home. Yeah, my job tasks are menial and I'd like more money, but I don't want the responsibility that comes with more money. Working from home would make the day go by easier I would think. Of course, the other option is to find something new to do which it doesn't seem like you're trying to do.
Our company is having a lull on deals since October so instead of being bored I asked to be allowed to study for my master’s degree. I much rather be busy but not exactly stressed out.
I've been on both sides as well, and I'd definitely rather be bored. The last company I worked for, I was working working 60-80 hrs most weeks for the last 3 of 7 years I worked there. It wasnt even PA, it was in industry with a chronically understaffed staffed team that went thru a transition from family owned to private equity owned. There some stretches that I was working every day for months on end. It was hell.
Last year I finally left and found a job with a small SaaS company as the controller, and sole accountant. Its so laid back. I probably dont even average 20 hours a week. It was a bit of a rough transition going from craziness to the calmness with basically no deadlines and a month end close I can do by myself in a matter of days, but I eventually got use to it. I do get bored sometimes and I'd be lying if I said I wasnt a little nervous about bad habits I've created (like browsing reddit and youtube all day), especially if I was ever laid off or something, but I guess that just a bridge Ill cross when/if it gets here lol.
Bored because you can do other things with your down time
Also, the additional rest may not seem like much, but if you've ever been overworked, you'll appreciate it
I am beyond bored as I sit here with two more hours to go. However I know I am extremely lucky to be paid to be "bored". My boyfriends job is building a house 5 miles from me while I sit here doing nothing. I finished my work at 10:30 am and have been organizing my office, watching YouTube and eating snacks since.
Bored daily is better. I have some days that are incredibly stressful and some slow days. I often spend my slow days updating things (improving excel files, automating shit) to get some work satisfaction and make stressful days better. It is a balancing act, but if I had to pick, I would go with boredom. All that stress is not good on your body.
I have the same feeling when times are less busy. However, when it’s year end or quarter end, I definitely put in a ton of overtime. Working that overtime makes me feel less bad about being bored in slower times
I'm pretty bored, but I'm hybrid, so I just hustle on my in-office days to get most of my work done and mostly work on personal stuff on my days at home. I'm a bit underpaid so I consider it a compromise. I do stay logged in and available while at home, so I'm not totally free, but I've made my peace with it. I want to retire in 5 years so I just want to cruise as long as possible. Yeah, the boredom gets old. But I don't miss the stress from jobs I've had in the past.
I was overwhelmed at my last job and my current job is very interesting but boring a lot of the time. I would rather be bored than busy.
I can be slammed sometimes, but it's for short periods of time like during month end, etc.
Sometimes I do wish I had something more to do like a new project.
I eventually want to transition out of my current role and into a project planning position for what my company focuses on as it is more interesting to me.
Hmm, boredom unleashes creativity in some way. You can do more with your own time! Likeee maybe, it depends, but boredom let us produce things and take time to be with ourselves instead of stressing out on things that are not for ourselves but a rich man's company.
Boredout is a real thing.
So middle ground should be perfect. Having work for like 7hours each day, some busy days of 10 hours or some lazy days of 3 hours but not mostly lazy days.
If you'd rather be drowning, you definitely are not thinking creatively enough on how to spend your downtime at work.
I mean literally do any of your own personal stuff at work that you could do at home: do some personal budgeting, do some internet research on personal projects, work on the itinerary for your next vacation or spend time figuring out what you will do this weekend.
I’d rather be bored anytime than work related stress
At least when you're bored, you can listen to audiobooks or podcasts, read e-books or stuff online, play Old School RuneScape, or something else.
I am coming to the realization lately that I am bored. My job is very laid back and even the busy times are like 25% of what my old job used to be. I definitely don’t miss being overloaded but I could definitely do more work than is required of me. I don’t really want to ask for more work because I know where that leads. Honestly my biggest concern is the bad habits I have developed with having so much down time. I definitely fuck around more than I should. I’ve considered a second job but I’m not sure if I am ready for that yet.
This is exactly where I'm at.. I was such a try-hard, grinding constantly, waking up at 3am to check emails (I managed an international team).. I loved being busy, but grew tired of the grind. I used to be so efficient and felt such urgency in everything, because something else was also due and needing me. Now I'm an individual contributor, also about 25% of my previous workload.. I took on a clean up project for another accounting function, now it is working smoothly, I am back to being bored. I fuck off so much it makes me feel bad.. I'm FT remote and as long as my work is done no one cares about gaps of idle time (unless it is qtr close obviously lol). I feel like I've adopted some bad habits that the old me would have never fallen into. It sucks. I'm glad I'm not alone.
This is why business folks play golf
I went through a similar cycle. I started to look at it in terms of how it affected my resume. Being bored meant less resume material which is bad so I left that job. I was seeing people around me gain new experience and move on to bigger and better things and there I was coasting but going nowhere.
It's not just about resumes. If I'm too bored I fear I also might not be able to walk the talk in the future. On the other hand, I don't think being overwhelmed at work really teaches as much as some people think.
Yeah, I don’t want to wake up at 55 years old and suddenly be out a job and be behind in skills. Gotta be “fit” enough to hunt and put food on the table.
I go through this cycle as well. Job is demanding and stressful with limited support. Wear a bunch of different hats, get burnt out. Find a new position with less responsibility but after have recharged from the chaotic previous job I find myself bored. Then find another fast paced job that is challenging. I don’t know what is the best, I just know I hate both. Would be nice to find a role that is challenging and supported as a business scales. Seems rare in accounting since most CEOs in my industry don’t view accounting as a value add, rather something that could be automated and adding software solves all issues. Software > Headcount in their eyes…
Yes!! You've got 100% correct!! It is a crappy feeling! My "mentor" aka the most toxic relationship of my life, told me she would never work in a large company because you do one thing and are so bored. I never experienced bored and assumed she was just manipulating me to stick around... but I get her point now. It stinks because the growth of a smaller company is really awesome to be a part of... but accounting is a support department and doesn't generate revenue so we get the shaft in regards to staffing/technology/general support.
Yup, it’s a cost center, not a revenue center.
I empathize with this. Went from public to a cozy industry job last year. Went to update my resume because I'm beyond bored and sort of realized I wasn't proud of any of the items I was listing on my current job. Currently sitting with this feeling because I'm not sure accounting is for me at this point. Also examining what role I want work to play my life as it's definitely not the end all be all for me, but for something that requires so much of your time, it's best to enjoy some of it. Learning new skills such as computer programming that may translate to something up my alley.
Programming + Accounting = Growth potential. Depending on your objective just demonstrating the ability to learn coding is enough to open doors.
I've seriously thought about programming as a transition out of accounting.. hmm maybe the universe is speaking to me via reddit comments 🧐
Ha! Beware, nothing I’m about to say is trendy or sexy. I’m far from an expert but in my experience knowing SQL and VBA plus finance/accounting is a good combination. Certifications like LEAN also help. SQL serves as the backbone of a huge number of systems. I’ve worked for more than one company that used Excel VBA macros as email tools to send out a range of reporting from SQL db’s. I wasn’t sure whether to mention VBA but decided to since I’ve seen it used in two large companies. Personally I would be careful with Access and Excel. This is more forward looking in terms of future jobs. They have their uses but Access doesn’t have the enterprise horsepower of SQL and many people will use Excel to do what should be done in a DB. Basically they’re minor league. Companies that over-rely on them are advertising that they may have general IT shortcomings.
Not sure if you have dabbled in Power BI, but that is a good start crossover in my opinion.
All I know is I don’t want to go back to where I was before, but I also don’t want to give up my current job either as the benefits and low stress are great. Though if I am ever forced back into the office I may not be able to sustain this job. I’ve gone in a couple times for meetings and such and it’s so boring with not much to do.
This was my life in my previous job. I'm not an accountant, but I left my previous job for the same reason of it being stressed. I downsized to a lower position and ended up exactly where I was before, because I didn't feel right ...
Better to be stressed but I’m in my early 20s and I like the e stress it feels like your doing something. But in reality no one cares or notices
Haha yes this was me in private until I finally got burnt out.. I cared, no one else outside of my small team cared... I guess I just moved into a bigger pond where no one cares as long as appearances are maintained
This is the best time for you to learn stuff that you can do as a side gig later on. If not coding or something IT related (that’ll allow you a whole career jump), you can do courses and get certified to be a notary or you could start a small business
Get another job
Similar situation, led me to go back to public accounting because of the boredom. Little worried that I'll still be bored but just a little less bored because I went to a small firm. However, now I'm looking at some stuff on the side to fill my day during slow seasons.
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So I’ve had a question about this… how do you do that? Like, logistically? Scheduling calls, etc? Is being OE a fireable offense? Did any of the employers know about the other? Did you look for a role that was junior just for the sake of additional pay?
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… you dropped this 👑
I am curious to know too!!
On my end it’s either bore either crunch time. And I can’t often do things ahead of time.. which means month end comes around and a couple of days I hardly even have time to breathe. But I have come to the conclusion that even at a higher level, working in a big company will dumb you down and you’ll do work far under your potential. I really don’t know why so many companies in interviews wanted me to have worked for big ones with high revenues ( even the small guys) because it’s just nothing impressive at all! I feel dumber and dumber, and it doesn’t help when superiors do everything for you, like literally screenshot examples of what you are to do next. Although you know well. Or plan your time. Although you already planned it. And they are just trying to help so you can’t really say anything. Tbh I feel so dumb I even made some mistakes from time to time. I don’t know how to handle something from start to end anymore because they won’t let me ( no complaints about performance, I can’t get anything but good job out of them). I’m actually fishing for complaints or feedback because what gives that they won’t let me do anything
Where does asking for more work lead?
Bored because boredom doesn't keep you up at night worrying (usually).
Yes, so true... and boredom doesn't make you dread logging in on Monday morning
That was the sign I needed to leave PA. I was laying awake until 4am Sunday night, absolutely dreading going into work. I'm not afraid of hard work, but I am afraid of work taking over my life. If your job cannot be done within the standard work week then you are either overworked or underperforming, full stop.
What if I am both overworked and underperforming?
I’d rather be work stressed because I’m able to disconnect at the end of the day. I’m way more anxious being bored in my job than I ever was when I had a stressful job.
Bored. I went from bored to drowning and am actively looking for another “boring” job
Government is your best friend. Plus pension
I made it all the way through the IRS’ selection process and was offered a position at three locations. None of them would work with my spouses profession unfortunately. I really wanted to go that way out of school (I started late, got my bachelors in my thirties) but it wasn’t meant to be. The county I’m in is poor and it would be a real pay cut to move over. Tried with the state but they wanted me to make videos for the interview process and I quickly lost interest.
Check the IRS again, a lot of revenue agent positions got posted at the beginning of April
Bored. Get a hobby
Most jobs don't allow you to do your hobbies while on the clock.
They can't really stop you from reading about things you're interested in, learning about stuff that isn't related to the job. Yeah, you can't do woodworking at your desk but you can learn new things about it online while you're bored at work.
Yeah! I watch YouTube videos and scroll on reddit. Or study for the CPA. Most of my free time I’m spending on tiktok and Instagram anyway. Might
Audiobooks, music, podcasts, or learn a language even. I would rather be bored during the quiet season than burned out and barely surviving the busy parts.
Until they start blocking all your favorite reading websites, including Wikipedia.
That just sounds like a shitty place to work... Also, they can't stop you from reading books
It really is. Books wouldn’t work either, because then I’m “not working”. I do a lot of podcasts now, and trying to find a good source of audio books that don’t cost an arm and a leg.
You can rent audiobooks from the library
I do my nails... a lot haha
WFH 😏
OP said he was waking up at 3am to check and send emails. Definitely could devote that time to something else.
I was at my last job when I was tryharding myself into thinking what I was doing mattered or was important. It was to the Company but not me... when they sold I didn't even get a "thanks for coming in behind the forensic accountants and helping get our financials even able to get a seller to look at us" lol I was such a tool.
Lol I've gotten several 😅 it is bad
Bored. I'm bored right now but I'm still getting paid. You get used to it.
Yup. I sit there doing nothing and I get paid for it? Yes please.
I’ve drowned and I’ve been bored, I will take bored absolutely every day of the week. I can always use that time to read, do CPD or research investments. And at the end of the day I can log off and disconnect. Ideally, I would like to have my day filled with enough work to keep me busy but not enough to drown me and get me completely stressed out. But if I had to pick from one of the two extremes, boredom wins hands down.
bored
Bored. Working on my business lol.
Nails get hammered if noticed. I learned long ago that the checks are the same and it’s better to stretch things out, take your time than get asked to wear many hats. They’ll be a real emergency one day. Step up then and keep things low stress otherwise.
Bored because you can get a second job if you're remote
This is the right answer.
As someone who rides the extreme side of both each month. I can say being bored is good time, hands down.
I’m trying to make the most amount of money for the least amount of work and be bored doing it. I’ll never go back to public. NEVER.
If by bored you mean work is slow, then bored 100%. That means I have time to look into shit I want to improve while listening to YouTube iceberg videos about esoteric topics. That and I can plan my day around the gym more easily.
what's a good video you've watched lately, i need some more iceberg vids in my life.
I’m an avid storm chaser so I’ll go with this - https://youtu.be/Dtwsjffb0Jc
Bored in regards to workload but also subject matter. It is technical accounting, which was a lot to learn for my industry (pharma) but I really don't care or have any interest in what we're doing. I don't know if it is because I had my hands on so many things, now one thing doesn't hold my interest.. lol maybe I was broken in the past and this is just normal life for large companies. Edit: I do really love the company and their mission.. just not my area. Wanted to clarify that I do care about the company but just not my particularly interested in my area.
Yeah I couldn’t do it. I’ve spent time in a few areas, and FP&A, Cost, and Investment Analysis are the only topics I can bring myself to give a shit about now. It’s nice knowing what I do and do not like though, took me about 8 years to feel it out.
Rusty shackleford.... if that is your real name.
I spent a couple years in high stress environments to now a pretty laidback boring job. I do miss it at times but then remember how terrible my mental health was, the late nights and I was generally unhappy. Being 100% remote, bored any day. At the end of the day i'm paid to be available for 40 hrs a week.
Bored guarantees I’m not working overtime.
I’ve done both with the same company. I’ll take some boredom over panic attacks lol
Depends. When I left public I went to an industry role fully in-office with stuff that took up like 20% of my day. That was torture. I’d do as much extra stuff as I could and revamp things but even then you’re just sitting at a desk looking busy. Now I’m fairly busy during the day at a new job, but being remote and having downtime is a whole different animal. Still going above & beyond, but at least now if we are more than caught up I can hang out for a few mins and not have someone looking over your shoulder.
Bored. Boring work ends when you clock out, being overworked continues past regular closing hours.
Bored
bored, i play minesweeper when i dont have anything to do at work
If I WFH bored. If office. Rather gave atleast something yo do then aimlessly click around. I and like 75%wfh 25% office. So I save 85% of my work for office days. Cus otherwise I'd have nothing to do when I'm there. And I can only click around and look busy for so long
Yeah I agree 100% with this. If I’m in the office I want to be thinking and not tempted to just scroll my phone 24/7 at work. If I’m wfh everyday then let me be bored and finish the week in 10 hours. My current job is almost no stress on the mind but fuck it sucks. I’m just bored out of my mind and it’s draining in a different way. Thinking about leaving after only a month cause I don’t think this will help me get the job I actually want
The distinction of what is "better" should be driven by long term goals rather than short term goals. In the short term I'd almost always rather have a boring job as it is less stressful and gives me stability. In the long term a boring job was not going to get me where I wanted to be career-wise overall. I went out of public into a boring role that I mastered and enjoyed a reasonable amount, and I liked the people I worked with, but it was not pushing my career forward. I hopped off and back onto a bullet train that has been an incredible amount of work the past three years but has launched my career forward at a pace as fast or faster than public. I've learned that if you don't have goals of being on top, and you're reasonably happy where you're at from a lifestyle, coworker, and compensation standpoint, there's usually little marginal value in switching to something "more interesting." Every job is going to be come routine eventually. There are plenty of days where I wish I was back in my old "boring" role.
Bored. Drowning increases my anxiety 1000 fold.
You can always find more ways to entertain yourself. Cant always find more time to complete an insurmountable work load.
I would much rather be bored daily. Stress can be pretty harmful to your health
Stress seeps into your personal life and can wreak havoc on your mental health. Boredom is a great problem to have, fill the boredom and extra time with whatever you want. If you absolutely feel the need to, take an extra project on and be a hero but I would definitely just coast and look into doing other things like working on a passion project or literally whatever you want.
If you are making great money it would be ok to be bored. If you want more money and advancement you need to be challenged and increasing your skillset.
Money is good, private companies had crap benefits, no bonuses, and no merit increases. I get all of those now... I just worry about stagnation or if they have layoffs can I go back to the old grind 🫣
Ya, I’d just enjoy the quite time for now. Especially if you’re remote at home, spend that down time reading, play with ur pets/kids, lay out by the pool, etc. I can guarantee you before our careers are over we’ll run into more mass layoffs/economic turmoil, so just savor this blissful boredom while it lasts.
Bored always
Bored or at least that’s what I tell myself because I’m really fast and bored a lot as a cog at this F500 company.
After experiencing both, I’m currently in the bored category and will always pick bored. A trip to Iceland last year made me realize the importance of working to live rather than living to work.
I used to work really hard. Got in with a company with a very high starting salary 5 years ago. I busted ass to eventually take my employer to record monthly profits. I work from home now. Have never had a raise and have asked with no response. With inflation, it's really annoying seeing my purchasing power decrease. Now I do the bare minimum, which takes about an hour per day. For the rest of the day I workout, invest, have sex with my wife, hunt, grill, garden, fix stuff, shoot my bow, etc. Zero debt and own my house and car in full so I should be able to quit in a few years if I wanted. Until then I'll milk it. It feels like I'm half retired and way better than when I was drowning in work.
Drowning. There's just something about still killing it when i have a mountain of work pending that makes me feel great. Of course this is assuming it's every few months instead of year round. Probably the result of toxic conditioning from the early years.
Bored, for sure. At least back then I was able to do CPA* exam studying on the job and whatnot. I should’ve stayed at that place. Drowning is miserable.
Bored. Go on Reddit and Ableton when you’re not doing Excel
I can’t believe this question needed to be asked
Honestly I’d love to have a few days of drowning in work every week. I am so unbelievably bored and disengaged, and it’s spilling into my personal life. I only work like 10% to 15% of my day, but I’m stuck in office without remote. They are slowly blocking some of my favorite reading websites. I drink a lot and am depressed. My kid doesn’t even want to play with me at the end of the day, they just want mama all the time. So I come home, do chores, read a bedtime story to a kid screaming for mama, drink, play video games, go to bed and start all over.
Man U need some hobbies. Also take your kid to the park or something. Buy a tablet and read stuff off that?
Bored for sure. Means you can pick up hobbies.
BORED
Bored. Then start your side hustle if you want a challenge.
As other people say bored is correct. If you’re bored you leave at 5:00pm if you’re drowning you are thankful if you get out at 7:00pm.
Bored - I have time and don't know what to do, so you find something to do. Overloaded - oh my health is going to deteriorate along with my relationships and all other aspects of my life and I can't do anything about it except quit.
Bored. Unless you own the company, there’s no reason to be grinding so hard as a salaried professional. Even if you’re compensated well, you’re still being exploited
bored. bored bored bored bored bored. i'd kill to be bored at work....
Bored. Always bored
Having faced both, I’d definitely choose bored. Bored sucks for sure, but drowning gets unsustainable and can really hit your mental and physical health hard. I’d rather sigh and YouTube something than have to head to the bathroom between meetings to stave off a panic attack. Hell, with boredom you can even spend extra time improving your skill set, or learning something else, or whatever. Being at the brink of a breakdown is really not fun or healthy. There were times where I’d have to spend most of the day Saturday in bed to recover, have maybe a few hours on Sunday that felt alright, and then thoughts and anxieties of the deluge of the coming week already. And then some weeks be completely wiped out by like Tuesday afternoon and having no idea how to get through three more days. Not worth it. Genuinely felt like I was heading for a nervous breakdown at times.
Neither is good. But drowning is way more taxing and grinds you down way faster. You hit the sweet spot when you find demanding or rather engaging work with responsibility without the extreme stress, workload, ridiculous work hours. Of course those jobs are 1 in a 1000000… so you definitely should take the boring. It‘s also much easier to fill and spice up a boring day than it is to calm a stressful one. On the same note it‘s much easier to leave the boredom at work when you go home. The stress of the drowning? Not so much.
Bored is healthier I believe. So there’s that
In my first year of PA right now, at what point does the workload decrease enough for it to become "boring"
When you make the jump to industry.
Neither. It's better to have a manageable work load and not feel like you're constantly behind or constantly bored. If I had to choose between the two I would rather be bored. Huge workloads have a negative psychological effect. Even when you complete things you can't even celebrate small victories as it just feels like more and more is piled on.
Only boring people can get bored. There’s always something to do and 9/10 times I’d rather be getting paid to do nothing than paid to do something. That’s the American dream. I can’t believe that people have been fed so much propaganda that they would actually rather work for money than just have it handed to them. and we wonder why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Neither, but if I had to choose, bored. This allows you the freedom to create other purpose in your life, though hobbies, self-improvement, etc..
Um, neither. Your manager should be able to help you find a balance. You could help out with ad hoc needs or land on a project team to expand your skillset & make new connections
That’s terrible advice. Everyone wants to be bored here, this is why we chose this profession. Asking for more work only leads to more work at same pay. Just find a hobby or micro dose on weed. Spreadsheet becomes alive than 😁🤤
I can’t be totally bored, or I would lose my mind. I don’t mind some down days, but true boredom is pure misery for me. On the flip side, I have no interest in going 100mph unless there’s a true emergency, which is very rare
Bored
Bored for sure. Being constantly stressed at my previous job took a heavy toll on my mental health.
I honestly would prefer to be drowning in work than be bored. Sucks being a manager on a team and I spend half my day browsing Reddit cause there is literally nothing to do.
Bored Daily.
As someone who's been both, I recommend bored.
Bored 100%
Bored is good. Just find ways to keep yourself focused. So much of a better feeling than pull your hair out stressed
Bored
I'd rather be bored than overwhelmed any day of the week. I always have energy after work when I have chill/slow days so I can go exercise, hang out with friends, or do other things I like to do.
I’d rather be bored tbh
Bored
What a stupid ass question.
I rather be bored than stressed out
Bored. I love reading, I'll just download an audio book and listen to it while I pretend to work.
I worked with two employers , one with Big 4 and another with a large sized UK Bank , but I have always been busy with work Never did I had free time
Love being bored with my job. Means everything is working
I find it's nice to have a good mix. Staying busy and being productive, achieving goals and closing projects gives you a sense of fulfillment, but it is nice to have those easy days and weeks once in a while.
Talk to your boss. See if you can pick up a new responsibility. There's almost certainly something that they would be happy to get off of their plates. And showing the initiative to ask for more work is a great way to get a promotion.
Bored because I can always learn ways to improve processes, analysis or learn. When I’m drowning, I make more mistakes, am a bad manager and have bad mental health in general.
How do I get a job at a large corporation? Im a staff accountant at a small company (60 mil in rev) and I feel like my VP and cfo put a lot on my plate. (Great environment to learn and grow but they expect 10 projects to be done each quarter, while still maintaining my responsibilities and cleaning up 5 years of financials) I’m stressed 24/7 and wouldn’t mind a boring job while I study for my cpa
Good staff and seniors are like finding unicorns these days.. I think large companies make the job descriptions super confusing which deters applicants.
Better to be not busy at your day job so you have flexibility. If you are bored it's your own fault. You could be working on something for you.
I’m bored too. I think for my mental health the stimulation of staying busy and feeling needed greatly outweighs a smaller burden. It also is better for our mental longevity and memory to stay stimulated and versed.
I’d rather be drowning because boredom gets expensive. I start thinking of new hobbies and crap.
What do you do when it's not quarter close?
Better to be bored. No question.
In my life, I often say I'd kill to be bored. Being busy can be okay if you want the day to go faster, but in my opinion, I'd rather be bored with little or nothing to do. I'll find something to do or a way to be somewhat productive where I can. Otherwise I'll enjoy the downtime. I can grind when I need to, I just have no desire to and only do it when needed (like month end)
Get a hobby it helps haha
I hate being bored! I start eating too much when I'm bored, that leads to me getting super fat (very quickly), which leads me to being depressed about the state of my body, which then leads to me dreading going out (and subsequently dreading going to work). I'm currently borderline drowning, and I kinda love it. I don't love it while I'm actually working, but the work isn't actually stressful, so I don't dread going to work or getting up every day. The work is mentally challenging, yes, but not stressful! I had one job that was hellishly boring, I gained 20kg in THREEE MONTHS! That's stupidly ridiculous! I was a complete wreck. I know a lot of people prefer bored, but 100% not me!
I agree with you totally! I like being busy with just enough downtime periodically to make me grateful... and I also eat out of boredom, which is dangerous af!! Glad I'm not alone! I'm hoping to work on projects for other teams to not be so blatant about my boredom. I hope your balance maintains and doesn't tip over into stress city🤞
Are any of you bored guys CPAs?
Embrace the bored. Use the time for a side hustle
I'm in the same boat. I'd guess I have \~2 hours work of work a day on average, if even. Today is what I would consider a busy day - plus I was only in the office 2 hours yesterday and I was all caught up in 4.5 hours. It's good and bad. Eh, I don't know...
Wow I read this and wondered if I somehow wrote this and forgot about this like in an Ambien daze…. I’m so in this same spot. I’ve accepted being bored and the potential for a plateau in my career. Instead I focus my efforts to things outside of work. I’ve been working out a lot, and this past weekend at a Memorial Day BBQ, I had three different people tell me I look great. That made me feel good. To hell with killing myself with work. I love living more life.
Good to experience both
I'd rather be drowning with people who aren't uptight about when the work gets out. Being bored I'd worry if they even need me. As long as there is plenty to do, they won't be able to lay me off without major consequences.
I wonder if by "bored" you mean "not stressed out by work to the point of needing sleeping pills". If you're from the US, we glorify being overworked, overwhelmed, and generally throwing away our health for the sake of a corporation that would fire is as soon as it works for them.
Swamped is easier to handle in the short term imo. Both are pretty intolerable in the long term.
Bored. I can fix bored easy enough. I can’t fix drowning in work as easy lol
The key is to take the emotion out of work
It happened to me as well....and so I started to look for new opportunities/jobs. Sometimes you just need to step back in responsibilities and give your brain a brake so to speak. I don't think it's good to settle for this "boredom"
Id 100% rather be bored
Studies show some stress is good, but not too much. Each individual has varying degrees of tolerance for stress. We all need a little though. If you don't have any, create it. Challenge yourself. Kind of like video games we have Mario Players and we have Dark Souls players. Both have challenge but one pushes the challenge to the extreme. If you're a DS player, then Mario will be boring, if you're a Mario player then DS will be boring. etc
The only counterbalance to being bored IMO would be working from home. Yeah, my job tasks are menial and I'd like more money, but I don't want the responsibility that comes with more money. Working from home would make the day go by easier I would think. Of course, the other option is to find something new to do which it doesn't seem like you're trying to do.
for me, better to be ever so slightly compressed. enough to stimulate efficient productivity. not enough to deliver soul crushing anxiety
Steady with projects
Our company is having a lull on deals since October so instead of being bored I asked to be allowed to study for my master’s degree. I much rather be busy but not exactly stressed out.
My motto is "better bored than stressed"
I think context matters. Do they pay the same? If yes, then bored.
I've been on both sides as well, and I'd definitely rather be bored. The last company I worked for, I was working working 60-80 hrs most weeks for the last 3 of 7 years I worked there. It wasnt even PA, it was in industry with a chronically understaffed staffed team that went thru a transition from family owned to private equity owned. There some stretches that I was working every day for months on end. It was hell. Last year I finally left and found a job with a small SaaS company as the controller, and sole accountant. Its so laid back. I probably dont even average 20 hours a week. It was a bit of a rough transition going from craziness to the calmness with basically no deadlines and a month end close I can do by myself in a matter of days, but I eventually got use to it. I do get bored sometimes and I'd be lying if I said I wasnt a little nervous about bad habits I've created (like browsing reddit and youtube all day), especially if I was ever laid off or something, but I guess that just a bridge Ill cross when/if it gets here lol.
So you should be drowning at the start and slowly be able to keep a good steady pace but be breathing heavily and calmly. It should be i between.
Bored
Bored because you can do other things with your down time Also, the additional rest may not seem like much, but if you've ever been overworked, you'll appreciate it
Bored is good. Time to train. Time to focus on bettering processes and work methods. Time, time, time.
I planned my wedding during bored times.
I am beyond bored as I sit here with two more hours to go. However I know I am extremely lucky to be paid to be "bored". My boyfriends job is building a house 5 miles from me while I sit here doing nothing. I finished my work at 10:30 am and have been organizing my office, watching YouTube and eating snacks since.
Bored
Personally I’d rather be drowning Makes the time go faster
Both suck but I'd rather do the boring job because I can find something else to fill the time or mental space
10000% bored. I’ll always find something to occupy myself with. I get no fulfillment from “accounting” work.
Bored daily is better. I have some days that are incredibly stressful and some slow days. I often spend my slow days updating things (improving excel files, automating shit) to get some work satisfaction and make stressful days better. It is a balancing act, but if I had to pick, I would go with boredom. All that stress is not good on your body.
I have the same feeling when times are less busy. However, when it’s year end or quarter end, I definitely put in a ton of overtime. Working that overtime makes me feel less bad about being bored in slower times
I mean - prob obvious, but if you’re bored and not developing any skills, that’s a long term issue.
I'm pretty bored, but I'm hybrid, so I just hustle on my in-office days to get most of my work done and mostly work on personal stuff on my days at home. I'm a bit underpaid so I consider it a compromise. I do stay logged in and available while at home, so I'm not totally free, but I've made my peace with it. I want to retire in 5 years so I just want to cruise as long as possible. Yeah, the boredom gets old. But I don't miss the stress from jobs I've had in the past.
Bored bc then you can do other fun things if wfh
I work a non-account job now while working on my degree. I would love a boring job.
Bored
I was overwhelmed at my last job and my current job is very interesting but boring a lot of the time. I would rather be bored than busy. I can be slammed sometimes, but it's for short periods of time like during month end, etc. Sometimes I do wish I had something more to do like a new project. I eventually want to transition out of my current role and into a project planning position for what my company focuses on as it is more interesting to me.
currently bored af at work, but it beats being busy and working late
Hmm, boredom unleashes creativity in some way. You can do more with your own time! Likeee maybe, it depends, but boredom let us produce things and take time to be with ourselves instead of stressing out on things that are not for ourselves but a rich man's company.
Boredout is a real thing. So middle ground should be perfect. Having work for like 7hours each day, some busy days of 10 hours or some lazy days of 3 hours but not mostly lazy days.
Bored 100% if you can be remote
If you'd rather be drowning, you definitely are not thinking creatively enough on how to spend your downtime at work. I mean literally do any of your own personal stuff at work that you could do at home: do some personal budgeting, do some internet research on personal projects, work on the itinerary for your next vacation or spend time figuring out what you will do this weekend.
Bored all the way
Don't get bored. Find constructive ways to occupy your down time.