Psychological Reasons Why You Can't Focus on Your Work

                                A job is boring or monotonous when it ceases to become interesting to the individual performing. Monotony is not a characteristic of a particular job. It is characteristic of the worker and the job at a particular time. A job that looks boring or monotonous to one individual may arouse the interest of another individual. Monotony is a mental condition that is produced by the constant repetition of some function over a long period. On the other hand, boredom is a mental condition in which the individual evinces negative attitudes toward a particular work. According to Harrel, monotony is a state of mind caused by performing repetitive tasks. It implies no emotional dislike. Boredom or lack of interest is characterized by depression and a desire for a change of activities.

                                  Boredom is more heavily affected by such factors as personality, attitude, interest patterns than is monotony. On the other hand, boredom can be differentiated from fatigue because it is a desire for a change in activity rather than for a rest or for relief from work altogether. Monotony is a state of mind or an attitude of a worker towards his job which is caused by performing repetitive tasks. For instance, a worker is doing a job that needs constant watch but does not keep his mind fully occupied, monotony is most likely to occur in this case. But boredom, on the other hand, denotes a lack of interest in the task assigned to a worker. The mind of the worker is depressed and he desired a change in work. Boredom is different from fatigue in the sense that a board worker desired change in the task. But a fatigued worker desired rest or relief from the work. Boredom is heavily affected by the personality, attitude, and interest patterns of the worker. Boredom can be removed by allowing the worker to change from one operation to another and monotony can be broken by enlarging the job.

                                 Fatigue may be defined as a reduction in the ability to work. The industrial psychologist studies fatigue not so much to understand its physiological basis as to be able to eliminate as many of its effects as possible, and thereby maintain or increase production and job satisfaction. The major component of mental fatigue is attitudinal. It is normally observed that students learning for an exam sometimes feel that hours of studying have exhausted them so much that they can no longer study even one more topic. They feel so exhausted that they feel like going to sleep. At this junction, if a friend gives them a call and suggests a small outing, then the fatigue caused by strenuous mental labor seems to disappear. The student does not feel too exhausted to go out for a get-together. This clearly shows that mental fatigue is mostly, attitudinal and caused by boredom in the work at hand. Fatigue may be both physical and mental. Physical fatigue occurs when the physical efficiency gets reduced and physical coordination becomes difficult. Physical fatigue is characterized by conditions of the muscles, chemical changes, heartbeat rate, blood pressure, oxygen consumptions, and breathing rate.

Reasons for fatigue:-

• Social cause
• Impact of atmosphere
• personal cause
• Type of machine use4d by the worker
• Impact of a period of work
• Unsuitable pasture of the worker
• The temperature of the working place
• Impact of short rest break
• Lack of proper ventilation