Hey! Who left this book on my desk? Diagnosis Boreout – How a Lack of Challenge at Work Can Make You Ill’. Must be a real loser! Let’s see here .. . A new phenomenon . . . recognised by two Swiss authors who have published a book in Germany . . . apparently workers are wasting hours a day for want of work to keep them busy . . . leaves them bored and dissatisfied with their job.

Yeah, right! Like the Swiss and the Germans know anything about goofing around all day. Germany and Switzerland? Germans are so industrious they can’t stop perfecting machinery to the point where if they don’t offer a ten-year guarantee on a washing machine they feel there mustbe a way of making that appliance more reliable.

The Swiss? To dispel any risk of boredom they devote themselves to time-consuming enterprises, like counting the world’s money once a week; making watches so complex that they have more moving parts than a space shuttle; and a tourist industry that depends on transporting millions of people to the top of snow-covered mountains in winter and ensuring they get up there for the start of their 9am lesson with their ski instructor.

If these people are suffering from a “lack of challenge, disinterest and boredom at work” resulting in “boreout”, as the authors put it, what are we suffering then, for Pete’s sake? What? No, I can’t. Can’t you see I’m busy? What? You call flicking through a book not being busy? Ill? You think that a lack of challenge at work is making me ill? Me? Let me tell you, mister, that . . . Sorry, that’s my phone . . . Oh hi, thanks for calling back. It’s about the holiday in St Lucia in your brochure . . . OK, where were we? Oh yeah! Those Swiss authors saying stress is good for you. Look, I have plenty of stress at work. It’s a full-time job just trying to look busy. Do you know how hard that is when you’ve got just two hours’ work to last you all week? A man with the IQ of plankton could do my job! I would delegate the work but, frankly, I can’t be motivated even to do that. Whoops! Here comes the boss. Is that the time?