WHAT MAKES JOBS MONOTONOUS AND BORING?

Direct observations of the jobs of 370 workers were used to explain perceptions-of monotony and feelings of boredom associated with work. Of the several observational measures of task characteristics that were constructed, the most efficient predictOr of monotony and boredom was the number of times during a fixed period that the most often-repeated task was performed. Intelligence and off-the-job activity levels were investigated as possible moderators of the relationship between task characteristics, monotony, and boredom. Intelligence had no significant effect on the association between job characteristics and either monotony or boredom. The moderating effects of intelligence were confined to the relationship between perceived monotony and feelings of boredom. That is, monotony was more closely associated with boredom among more intelligent workers. The moderating effects of off-the-job activity were likewis