Do your employees ever complain of boredom? Have you had to leave a job because it was so tedious?

It can happen. A French man has been awarded a £36,000 payout after his job was deemed so boring it led to mental health problems.

Frederic Desnard worked as a manager at luxury perfume manufacturer Interparfum until 2015, when he claims he was forced to quit because his job was so tedious it drove him to depression. He claimed that losing an important client led to him being assigned menial tasks for four years. His doctor said his symptoms of depression were related to extreme boredom and he was signed off work for six months, after which he was made redundant.

At the Tribunal in Paris, court staff used the term 'bore-out', the opposite of traditional 'burn-out', where a person has a nervous breakdown from being assigned too many tasks. The Tribunal ruled that there was a definite link between the deterioration of his health and the changes in his work.

The perfume company claimed that Mr Desnard failed to make them aware that he was suffering from 'bore-out' – and indeed, it’s not always obvious if someone has a mental health problem as no two people behave in exactly the same way when they are unwell. Clearly their arguments failed to win the day.

What does this case mean for you? If you’re a manager, you can help people who are experiencing mental health issues by knowing what steps to take to support them. Mental Health First Aid teaches how to help a person developing a mental health problem, becoming more unwell, or in a mental health crisis. If you think there might be an issue, it’s important not to wait. Talking to someone is often the first step to take, even if that feels difficult; it will help you find out what’s troubling them and what you can do to help.

If you’re finding your own work less than stimulating – or think it’s having a negative impact on your health – it’s important to let someone know, before the situation makes things worse.