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Reports of a near miss between two planes at JFK Airport and of air traffic controllers who fell asleep at Washington Airport remind us of the many times we put our lives in the hands of others. What to most of us is a special occasion, even if we fly often, is to ATC officers and pilots part of the daily routine and daily routines get boring.

Boredom can set in on any job. There are repetitive elements about jobs that make us take for granted that everything will work as it always has. From proof reading manuscripts to confirming meetings, from introducing employees to their jobs to surgery on serious medical conditions we are all liable to get tired or careless from time to time.

Many road accidents are caused by carelessness. I once saw a Magistrates Court indictment which accused a driver of driving “without due car and attention”. Even Court Clerks get bored.

How can we make jobs systematic and thorough on the one hand and varied enough to maintain our interest on the other? The very act of reading a checklist of things to do predisposes us to think that they have been done. Adequate supervision is a prerequisite to good discipline but supervisors get bored, too, and too much supervision passes the buck to another level. A sense of personal responsibility prevents boredom.

When we get bored our thinking slows down or switches off because of lack of stimulus. The only way to keep a job ‘fresh’ is to ask for – and reward – suggestions for improving the process and success rate of the work being done. Employees who are asked to help usually relish the opportunity to contribute to something beyond their often limited sphere of influence. We all know that we are much better than the boss; this is our chance to show it.

Management today is not just the imposition of discipline but the release of initiative. It involves helping people to appreciate the full value of themselves, expressed through their work. The man who thatched our cottage roof taught me that the only relevant quality standards were those I imposed on myself; his lesson is needed more than ever now that quality control has become so routine that it is often, yes, boring.

When you next go for a job interview think how bored the interviewer is. Same old routine, same boring resume, same banal questions, same predictable answers. Change the pace, reverse the process, ask the interviewer questions, stimulate his thinking. He will be intrigued by the role reversal, impressed by the courage required, enlivened by the interaction. Even if he feels threatened by such enterprise, he will hire you because his fear that you will go to a competitor is even greater.

And when you have the job, much will be expected of you. Make sure that much is given in return for your contribution to making life more thoughtful, more fun and more successful. You really will be dispelling boredom.

That’s pretty impressive.