The "Corporate Glaze": Why We’re All Suffering from Boreout (And Pretending It’s a Vibe)

I used to think the worst thing that could happen to my career was Burnout. You know the visual: messy bun, 4 a.m. emails, crying in the office washroom, The Bear-level cortisol spikes. It’s terrible, but it feels… oddly heroic? Like you’re a war veteran of capitalism.

But lately, I’ve been sensing a different energy in the room. Or rather, a lack of energy.

I’m seeing glazed eyes on Zoom calls. I’m seeing people "Hurkle-Durkling" (that Scottish trend of rotting in bed way past the alarm) not because they’re tired, but because they simply cannot face the nothingness of their 9-to-5.

Welcome to Boreout. It’s Burnout’s uncool, lethargic, evil twin. And I think half of Mumbai is suffering from it without knowing the diagnosis.

What exactly is Boreout? Psychologically, while Burnout is caused by overload (too much work, too much stress), Boreout is caused by underload (too little meaning, too little challenge).

It’s the feeling of being mentally idle while physically present. It’s when your brain is a Ferrari stuck in Mumbai traffic at Saki Naka engine revving, going nowhere, slowly overheating. You aren’t stressed; you’re stagnant. And science says this under-stimulation eats away at your self-esteem faster than stress does.

The "Lobotomy Chic" Aesthetic If you scroll TikTok, you’ll see Boreout disguised as an aesthetic. We’ve moved past the "Girlboss" era and landed straight into "Lobotomy Chic" or the "Dissociative Pout" that dead-eyed, checked-out look that says, “The lights are on, but nobody’s home.”

It’s the visual representation of Boreout. We aren’t engaging; we’re glazing.

We joke about wanting a "Lazy Girl Job"a role that pays well for minimal effort but here’s the trap: once you actually get one, the novelty wears off in three months. Then, the existential dread sets in. You realize that "Act Your Wage" (doing the bare minimum) protects your energy, yes, but it also starves your curiosity.

Is Your Life a Scene from Severance? Watching Severance felt like a documentary for the Boreout generation. Mark Scout doesn’t hate his job because it’s hard; he hates it because it’s a meaningless loop of sorting numbers. He severs his brain to avoid the sheer monotony of being there.

We do the same thing, just without the surgery. We doom-scroll between meetings. We "Bed Rot" all weekend to recover from a week where we did… nothing substantial. We engage in "Quiet Quitting," not as a protest, but as a defense mechanism against boredom.

The "Rust-Out" Danger The problem with Boreout is that it feels safe. It feels comfortable. You have the paycheck, the AC, the "Chill Job." But underneath, you are engaging in what psychologists call Rust-Out. Your skills are rusting. Your confidence is rusting.

When you eventually try to leave that boring job, you feel like you’ve forgotten how to run. You start doubting if you can even handle a challenge anymore. That is the real cost of comfort.

So, How Do We Unglaze? If you’re reading this and thinking, “Oh god, it’s me,” don’t panic.

But don’t stay there.

1. Name the Ghost: Stop calling it "chill." Call it what it is: Under-stimulation. Admitting you are bored is the first step to reclaiming your brain.

2. Find "Good" Friction: If your job won’t challenge you, you have to challenge yourself. Pick a side quest. Learn a skill that has nothing to do with your KRA. Start a "passion project" (even if you hate that term). Give your brain a chew toy.

3. Gamify the Monotony: Can you automate that boring report? Can you redesign the team workflow? Creating your own challenges within a boring role is a classic psych hack to re-enter a state of Flow.

Boreout is silent, but it’s loud in your head. Don’t let the "Corporate Glaze" become your permanent expression. You were built for more than just keeping a seat warm.