#6 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻

Let’s talk about something that's rarely named but is quietly draining our profession:

𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗢𝗠

We often link burnout to being 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗱.
But what if burnout is also happening because we’re 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗱?

Boredom doesn’t shout.
It sneaks in as low energy, quiet frustration, and that hollow feeling like you’ve hit a ceiling…and no one’s noticed!

You stop being excited.
You start counting down shifts.
You feel undervalued. Underused. Uninspired.
You’re still capable. Still committed. But, you feel stuck.
And when we feel stuck, we lose motivation.
When we ignore professional growth, we lose passion.
And when nothing changes… people leave. Or worse, they stay put, but disengage.

𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆?
• There’s no budget.
• Talent management ends at induction
• You’re too short-staffed to even think about CPD.
• The structure’s flat, and the career ladder ends early (often within 5 - 10 year post qualification)
• There’s a silent assumption that experienced, reliable and still here = fine.

But growth doesn’t always have to mean promotion. It’s about challenge, creativity, being seen and stretched in meaningful ways.

Thriving teams get this. They create ways for people to evolve, even when moving “up” isn’t on the table. They:

• Encourage people to lead small projects.
• Support time for reflection, peer learning or coaching.
• Ask simple but powerful questions like:
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦?”

Even when money is tight, curiosity and encouragement are free, and they go a long way. So if you’ve been feeling flat in your role lately, it doesn't mean there's anything wrong. It means you're ready for more!

And if you lead others? Ask them the question:
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸?”

Because we can’t afford to lose radiographers to boredom disguised as burnout.