Beating mid-career boredom

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

The realities of day-to-day clinical work can allow boredom in, but there are strategies to finding again the joy in the profession. By Lynne Testoni

The first few years as a dentist can be overwhelming and challenging for many new graduates, as they adapt to the realities of life outside university and inside a modern clinical practice. 

As the years go on, however, the learning curve can plateau, and some dentists can experience career boredom—not burnout, but boredom with what they are doing.

Sydney-based career coach Jane Jackson says that she sees many mid-career professionals suffering from boredom, and it may be continued fallout from the COVID pandemic.

“COVID raised a number of problems,” she explains. “When people were working from home, they had the opportunity to think more deeply about their careers. Many people had been on autopilot and when there was that enforced pause at work, many asked themselves, ‘What do I really want out of my career?’ 

“I’ve had many clients approach me when they felt at a career crossroads, wondering if they should stay or leave, or make a change, and felt frustrated as they didn’t know what else to do nor why they felt this frustration or boredom.” 

Jackson says that there are many ways to alleviate mid-career boredom, starting with reassessing what you enjoy about your profession and current role.

“Look at what is important to you with regard to your values, what satisfies you, and what motivates you,” she advises. “Sometimes when you break it down, you realise that what you’ve been unhappy about has not been the most important thing.

“People tend to focus on all the little things that annoy them and small grievances, but as soon as they understand their driving values—whether it’s financial gain, recognition, relationships at work or doing meaningful work, for example—that’s the most important thing. 

“If they can tick that motivation box, they may realise that they’ve been focusing on the little things, not the big things, and may actually be happier than they realise!”

Jackson says that people may believe career boredom is something they have to tolerate, but there are ways to reinvigorate your career.

“You need to consider your life and career holistically. First, take a step back and complete a life inventory. Assess your finances, your relationships at work, with your family, partner and children. Assess your physical and mental health, and career experiences to date.

“Then consider your physical environment. Is your workspace an inspiring or comfortable space conducive to your productivity and to the comfort of your patients?” 

Amber Greene, a career coach on the Gold Coast, recommends that if you feel bored, or stuck in your career and need to refresh your perspective, then take time out to think about what your ‘dream day’ or ‘dream week’ would look like. She says that can help people become clear on what they like and dislike about their current job. 

“Start to work out the tasks that you love doing. This contemplation will help to clarify your thoughts,” she says. “So, you might love being with the patient, cleaning teeth and working with the tools, but detest the business of running your practice. Or perhaps you might be burnt out from face-to-face interactions with patients, but love advocacy, and talking about dental health.”

Greene suggests that making small changes to facilitate that dream week might be all that’s needed. This could be just a matter of changing your clinical hours to allow time to exercise in the morning, leaving early to spend more time with the family, or moving the office to a more convenient location. You could even change the mix of patients and procedures.

“It’s about doing more of the things that you like doing and less of the things that you don’t,” she adds. “There are so many options to consider—you can stay in the role you’re in, or pivot into a completely different industry with a career switch. 

“For example, some people will take a career sidestep, where they’ll try different roles within their own business, and outsource the things they aren’t so keen on. If they’re working for someone, they might move to a different employer to gain some new opportunities to stretch their skill base.”

Learning new skills will help you out of the boredom rut, Greene continues. “Find a job where you’re going to evolve and grow, where you’re going to be skill building in some capacity. Because the number one indicator of people being happy in a job is that they are growing and learning.

“If you’re not growing and evolving as a human, that’s boredom. If you know how to do everything, it’s tough to stay engaged and motivated in a job. Also, if you’re thinking about change of any kind, ask questions at the interview about the training and development opportunities, or perhaps mentor opportunities—either giving back or having somebody to be an apprentice to.”

Reconsidering how you work can also prove valuable. “Explore ways to reshape your role to better align with your strengths and interests,” Greene advises. “You may focus on specific types of treatments, specialise in a different area or integrate new approaches into patient care.”

Jane Jackson says that sometimes people can think the boredom and stress is due to their job, but it might actually stem from other parts of their life.

“So often they think, it’s all to do with the job, but we have to think of our lives holistically too. Taking a step back and doing a life inventory would be helpful and assessing things such as finances, as well as relationships with customers, family, partner and children, or whatever it might be. Working on other areas of your life can be helpful too.”