Solitaire Bliss said more than four million people daily play Solitaire on its site, and it set out to see if some of that might have to do with people being bored at work.
And its survey of more than 1,000 Americans found out that a lot of people are bored at their jobs.
“Survey respondents self report that they are bored at work for more than a quarter of their average workday, breaking down to essentially two hours a day. And over a third of respondents said they’ve actually found their job boring for years,” said Matt Zajechowski, a researcher with Solitaire Bliss.
When asked why, 43% cited lack of motivation, followed by waiting on others, not enough work, and work that is too easy.
Solitaire may be a stealthy way to whittle away bored time at work since it made the leap to screens in the 1980s, but it didn’t specifically come up when asked how they filled those boredom spells (though playing games did). Social media topped the list.
“I think it’s very easy for people to get displaced with what they are doing and hop on Twitter or Facebook or their favorite social media and kill time that way,” Zajechowski said.
Other answers included socializing with colleagues, shopping online and watching TV. Some other not so acceptable ways to fill boredom spells included working another job, job hunting, smoking or vaping, and sleeping.
The survey revealed that two in five respondents said if their boss knew they were bored, they’d be given more work, but a third said their bosses are aware of their boredom but are indifferent, as long as work gets done.
The survey also found a third of respondents actually enjoy boredom at work.
“They reported feeling less stress. They said it makes them feel like they have more freedom and control over their time. Some people said it helps with work-life balance, and some said they just like to use that time to socialize with co-workers,” Zajechowski said.
Fun fact about Solitaire: The game traces its roots to 18th-century Europe, but it became one of the first desktop games in 1988 when a Microsoft intern coded the game to teach people how to use a mouse. More than 35 million people around the world are regular Solitaire players.
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