By R. Esi Asante (PhD)
Do you feel exhausted at work, do you lack motivation, stressed out, struggling to cope with work, feeling helpless, lonely and emotionally drained? You may be experiencing brown out, bore our (boredom) or burn out.
It happens to everyone at a point in time. Sometimes we get overwhelmed and exhausted when we experience emotional, physical and mental fatigue for long leading to quiet quitting.
Feelings of constant high stress levels without any effort to reduce it results in exhaustion which eventually leads to emotional and physical burn out and because burn out is a gradual process, the symptoms are not easily noticed immediately until one begins to lose the ability to function, become bored, brown out and eventually burn out.
This article examines how brown out, bore out and burn out leads to quiet quitting in the workplace, the consequences, how to identify and overcome or reduce them to ensure success.
Quiet Quitting:
Quiet quitting describes a situation where employees become disengaged or disinterested in their jobs without resigning or quitting formally. They may still physically show up to work but have mentally checked out, resulting in decreased productivity, motivation, and overall job satisfaction.
They often do the minimum required to get by but will not contribute their full effort or engage actively in their roles (talkspirit.com, n/d).
Those who are quietly quitting may complete tasks slowly or inefficiently, resulting in a decrease in overall productivity, they no longer show interest in their work, colleagues, or organisational initiatives.
They may withdraw from team activities, meetings, or collaborative projects, leading to a decline in teamwork and communication. Some become more absent, taking more sick days or personal days as a way to disengage from work, exhibit negative attitudes, complain about their job or company culture and stop contributing new ideas or innovations and may have lost interest in the job.
Gallup’s 2024 report shows a high rate of employees quiet quitting. Internationally, nearly 6 in 10 employees reported disengagement, otherwise known as quiet quitting, costing the global economy, an estimated $8.8 trillion, or 9 percent of the global GDP.
There are several reasons why people may quiet quit and seek for new jobs. Among them are career advancement, higher compensation, better work-life-balance and flow, unsatisfactory work environment and toxic workplaces, desire for new challenges, geographical relocation, company instability, lack of recognition and ethical or moral concerns (talkspirit.com, n/d).
Current research point to burn out, brown out and boring out as some of the causes of quiet quitting (Gallup, 2024). Workers who plan to quit are motivated by a very different set of emotional needs. The chief unmet emotional need that drives quitting is the desire for greater ethical conduct, specifically the need to reduce feelings of wrongdoing (Pincus, 2024).
Brown Out:
Brown out in organizations is a recent phenomenon characterized with loss of meaning and interest to work, especially when there is loss of motivation to carry out daily tasks. It is a subtle syndrome but a reality that infiltrates the lives of individuals and must not be overlooked. It affects wellbeing, productivity and the success of a business.
Intuition Software (2023), not that brown out is a state of professional exhaustion where the employee becomes disengaged, losing motivation and passion for work, without showing outward signs of fatigue or stress.
Although relatively new in the corporate world, it is not a new phenomenon and growing numbers of professionals around the world are affected due to the rapid societal changes.
The loss of interest linked to brown out often leads to quiet quitting and in the most cases, leads to employees’ ultimate resignation if no solution is proposed. Symptoms include a state of disinterest in work, caused by internal factors such as a lack of recognition or an unsuitable corporate culture, for example, toxic corporate culture, lack of career development prospects and excessive workloads. The external factors causing brown out include market pressure, global crisis or a change in the industry (Intuition Software, 2023).
The impact of brown out can be devastating for both employees and the employers. It can lead to a significant drop in productivity, and spread to all employees through a contagion effect. For orgaisations, brown out often translates into poorer productivity, greater staff turnover and a declining corporate culture.
The consequences can be very gradual and difficult to detect. For employees, the consequences of brown out result in loss of joy and satisfaction in the work, affecting general well-being and personal life.
Data shows that young people who attach greater importance to meaning at work are mostly affected (Intuition Software, 2023). According to a Deloitte study, more than half of all employees feel that the meaning they find in their work has deteriorated, and may therefore be experiencing brown out at work.
Other symptoms are a lack of motivation, an increase in absenteeism, a drop in productivity, disengagement and dissatisfaction. These symptoms can go unnoticed within the company and if proactive measures are not taken to recognize and resolve the issues, the situation can worsen.
Burn Out:
Burnout is a state of mental, physical, and emotional depletion caused by prolonged stress or excessive demands. Whether it stems from work, personal obligations, or even hobbies, burnout is marked by feelings of detachment, fatigue, and reduced enthusiasm for previously meaningful activities (The Mayo Clinic, 2023).
Burnout is a specific type of workplace stress, acknowledged by the World Health Organization (WHO), where workers feel general dissatisfaction with their work and multiple levels of exhaustion, including: mental, physical and emotional exhaustion.
Signs of burnout include feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job, reduced professional efficacy among others.
Others include diminished pride in work, losing sight of oneself and personal goals, difficulty maintaining relationships and being present with loved ones, frustration and irritability with co-workers and unexplained muscle tension, pain, fatigue and insomnia (Raypole, 2023, The Mayo Clinic, 2023).
In many cases, burnout is related to one’s job, but it can also happen in other areas of life, affecting the individual’s well-being and health. Burnout can be caused by stress, but it’s not the same. Stress results from too much mental and physical pressure and too many demands on your time and energy. Similarly, job burnout affects quiet quitting behaviour.
The Holaspirit Team (2023) observed that burnout is a big factor in attrition — 57% of employees who are experiencing burnout related to the constant changes happening within their organizations intend to quit.
Meanwhile, 70% of those who are not burnt out intend to stay. Burnout has distinct forms with different root causes and solutions. It has been classified into three types: Overexertion, Depletion, and Misalignment burnout (cedarcounselingandwellness.com).
Overexertion: it happens when too many responsibilities are taken on by individuals over a prolonged period because they feel unable to say no or are driven by high achievement standards. The signs include feeling physically and mentally drained, experiencing irritability, and finding it challenging to stay engaged in tasks (cedarcounselingandwellness.com).
Depletion burnout: This occurs when individuals fail to recharge adequately, regularly neglecting rest and renewal. This burnout is common in those who overlook self-care in favor of constant productivity. It is marked with physical exhaustion, frequent illness, and difficulty concentrating. Emotionally, people may feel worn out and unable to sustain motivation.
Misalignment burnout: It arises when people invest in tasks or goals that don’t align with their core values, purpose, or long-term aspirations. This often happens due to external pressures or staying in roles that feel inauthentic.
The signs include lack of motivation, feelings of “going through the motions,” and frustration or resentment toward tasks are common signs of misalignment burnout (cedarcounselingandwellness.com).
Bore out (Boredom):
Boredom or bore out is quieter killer that no one talks about. It is responsible for employee turnover and burnout, leading to quiet quitting. Employees are not just leaving because they are overworked, research shows they are leaving because they are underwhelmed. This is different from burnout.
Boredom also leads significantly to quiet quitting. often leading to a decline in employee engagement and motivation. When employees feel underwhelmed, they are less likely to put in extra effort or take on new challenges, potentially leading to a pattern of disengagement known as quiet quitting (Mulukom, 2024).
Bored employees are 2.5x more likely to job hunt. Research shows that boredom isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s a major driver of turnover ((Harvard Business Review, 2025) due to repetitive tasks lack of challenging roles and when the roles do not match the skills. Once boredom sets in, it spreads.
Employees start to check out mentally, doing the bare minimum, and looking elsewhere for something that actually excites them (Syed, 2025). A study published in Frontiers in Psychology (2024) found that bored employees are more disengaged, perform worse, and are significantly more likely to leave.
How different are the three terms?
Brown out, burn out and bored out may sound similar but differ in that brown out is the loss of meaning in work, burn out is the extreme exhaustion cause by overwork and high levels of stress, bored out is a state of total boredom with one’s work. In comparison, burn out is when employees are overstimulated, and bore out is when they are under stimulated. Both leave employees exhausted, feeling empty, and unable to cope with the demands of work and life.
Employee burnout and bore out are easier to spot than brownout, as the syndromes are more visible: physical or mental fatigue, stress, psychological disorders, etc. Brown out, on the other hand, is more difficult to identify, because if the employee lacks energy and motivation, this does not necessarily translate into fatigue or stress. Similarly, job burnout affects quiet quitting behaviour (Pincus, 2024).
Overcoming or Reducing the Occurrences
It is a worrying trend when employees show up for work but not fulfilling their obligations, and while they are not quitting, they are quiet quitting, meaning not giving off their best, not stepping up or going beyond and above. Many factors including burn out, brown out, have been cited. To reduce quiet quitting, employers should provide innovative compensation packages, show recognition and gratitude.
In fact, 79% of employees say they would stop ‘quiet quitting’ if they were given more recognition (Growth Faculty, 2022). If employees don’t feel valued, they more likely to check out. Being transparent about career growth, listening to the teams, connecting with them, building team engagement, are all possible ways to reduce quiet quitting.
To overcome brown out and burn out, it is important to create environments that can reduce stress and frustration. There may be the need to make changes to lighten excessive and overwhelming workloads.
Personally, people must learn to say no and avoid people-pleasing tendencies. Tasks can be rescheduled, while some commitments can be cancelled. Raypole (2023) suggests the need to involve close friends, loved ones and trusted people to support when overwhelmed.
Employing the services of professional therapists to offer professional guidance, can help identify causes, explore possible coping methods, and navigate life challenges contributing to burnout which can provoke feelings of helplessness and can also play a part in feelings of depression.
It is advisable to seek professional help if you feel hopeless, have persistent low mood and experience helplessness. It is also necessary to examine available options, take back control by dealing with all the internal and external factors contributing to the situation, set boundaries and practice self-compassion (Raypole, 2023, The Mayo Clinic, 2023).
Employers can support by taking note of symptoms of burnout and help workers avoid it. The Holaspirit Team (2023) note that burnout is found to be a big factor in attrition with 57% of employees experiencing burnout related to the constant changes happening within their organizations and intend to quit. Leaders need to adjust their standards for work output while changes occur.
Again, it is possible to prevent brown out to the maximum, by paying attention to details such as the meaning of work, ethics and employee well-being.
The Intuition software (2023) suggest two main prevention strategies: implementing wellness and support programs, training leaders and managers and effectively communicating with employees to manage brown out.
Boredom is a red flag and needs to be overcome. There is a need to build challenging, meaningful, and well-aligned work that appeals to employees.
