Australians ditching their dream jobs for ‘boring’ ones as study reveals Aussies among most stressed at work

Forget the dream job – Australians just want to switch off.

Workers are stressed, sad and checked out, with just 21 per cent engaged at work. As pressure builds, more are fantasising about something more appealing: a “boring job” that ends at 5pm.

Doctor of Psychology Marny Lishman said she had seen a clear shift in how people were thinking about work.

“I’ve certainly seen this growing trend in the working world, where adults in middle age are reaching a crisis point,” she said.

“They are feeling overwhelmed, under pressure, exhausted, uncertain and are beginning to question whether it’s healthy – psychologically and physically – to continue this way.

“They’re wondering if there is a better way to live and are seeking guidance on how to make that shift.”

Dr Lishman, a therapist and mindset coach, said younger generations were thinking about this too.

“They’re looking at older generations and deciding they don’t want to work the way their parents have,” she said.

“Instead, they’re exploring jobs, roles and entrepreneurial avenues that offer a healthier work-life balance.”

The shift comes as one of the world’s largest studies of employee experience shows Australian workers are persistently stressed, emotionally strained and disengaged.

Gallup’s 2026 State of the Global Workplace report reveals just 21 per cent of Australian employees are engaged at work, while half report experiencing high levels of stress during much of the previous day — significantly above the global average.

Significant numbers also report sadness, anger and loneliness.

Against that backdrop, the appeal of so-called “boring jobs” is growing.

Dr Lishman, an author and speaker, said the shift was not about a desire for boredom, but for relief.

“I don’t think most people aspire to have a ‘boring’ life, or even chase ‘boring’ activities,” she said.

“I think it’s more about chasing simplicity, calm and certainty in a world that feels chaotic, stressful, volatile and uncertain at times.”

The fantasy of a “boring job” is the desire for a role that is predictable, low stress and that you can disconnect from at the end of the day.

Clinical and health psychologist Peta Stapleton said the appeal of predictability was rooted in how the brain functions.

“Certainly we know, in the parenting field around children’s behaviour and regulation, there’s a really strong emphasis – when children are younger and their brain is developing – on consistency, certainty and predictability,” she said.

“If you overlay that then to adults – and if we talk about climate, during and even post-COVID –the thing that was standing out was people’s nervous systems were so on edge and disregulated because we didn’t have answers and certainty.

“With what’s happening in the world now – the cost of fuel and cost of living and all this kind of stuff – it’s the same kind of argument … things aren’t predictable.”

Dr Stapleton, an associate professor at Bond University, said while some people thrive in high-pressure, unpredictable roles, they are often difficult to sustain.

“Too much of that, over time, wears people out,” she said.

“So we have high turnover rates and burnout because … the brain and the body really likes to know what’s coming up based on what came in the past.

“As long as you can have predictability in some corners of your own world, your own life, which might be a boring job, that will help you cope with other things in life that you actually have no control over.”

Dr Stapleton said control – not excitement – was the key driver of well-being at work.

“Decade’s worth of research has always indicated that people are unhappy or dissatisfied or might experience more stress in high demand jobs with low control,” she said.

“How much control you have over your working life seems to be really connected to how happy and, therefore, how productive or engaged you are in your job.”

She said modern work had steadily eroded those boundaries. The result is a workforce that is constantly switched on and increasingly unable to disconnect.

“People might describe it as stress, but what it really might look like is headaches, neck strain, appetite issues, emotional eating, more drinking at home to unwind because you can’t turn off, sleep and relationship issues,” she said.

“It very much shows up in the body… but half the time it’s stress-related.”

Prominent Australian economist Leonora Risse said the shift could also be explained through an economic lens.

“One of the phenomena we observe in the labour market is this notion of ‘greedy jobs’ which was coined by a Harvard professor,” she said.

“These types of jobs demand and absorb so much of you. They require 24/7 availability and to be on call whenever your employer needs you.

“Employers incentivise and reward that … so the whole corporate system is set up to extract as much time and effort and cognitive and emotional and mental labour that they can. They really just suck the worker dry in the most extreme situations.”

Associate Professor Risse, from Queensland University of Technology, said these roles had intensified as the economy shifted towards knowledge-based work.

“In some of these professions – like legal services, finance, investment banking – the phone is always on and you never know when the client’s going to need you or when a deal is going to fall through or when the stock market is going to move and you need to take quick action,” she said.

“The nature of that work and the growth of those sectors has meant that it’s really intensified.”

Dr Risse said the system rewards constant availability, even when it is unsustainable.

“And ultimately what will happen is there’ll be burnout… and then you get replaced,” she said.

“It’s a cycle that employers can sustain because you’re ultimately dispensable and replaceable in that system, but at an individual level you can’t sustain that type of work.”

In that context, she said, the appeal of more predictable work is logical.

“I think that can help to explain why it’s appealing… to reclaim a sense of physical, mental and psychological health,” she said.

“I would also say agency and more autonomy because you’re really beholden to your employer.

“And so often that is almost like reclaiming a bit of freedom and a sense of control over your life.”

She said workers were increasingly weighing that trade-off.

“That ‘greedy jobs’ phenomenon kind of works by saying it might be more complex and more intense and more variable, but we’re going to offer you more money per hour… that’s the compensation,” she said.

“So you’re constantly making this trade-off… as opposed to having something that might be lower status… but at least it’s predictable.”

Dr Risse said choosing a more predictable role could reflect a level of awareness about what individuals need to sustain themselves.

“Emotional intelligence would probably have to be a factor here because it suggests that you’re attuned to what you need intrinsically as a person and what fulfils you and what will sustain you, as a person, holistically.”