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Burnoutindex.org

burnoutindex.org

161–170 of 190 posts

Re: Burnoutindex.org

#161

I feel like one of the worst things you can do when you burnout or are on the way to burning out, is to get a new job. Imo, swapping in stuff where stuff wasn't good before is just a way to divert your attention in a way that doesn't let you redevelop your value system in a way that you really need to. Just stop for a while. Maybe a long while. Then see what you want to do.

Some workplaces are really bad though. I've had one that was complete insanity with bosses yelling etc. Better to get out sometimes.

Absolutely agreed, but I think this is more of a specific case where the environment is totally toxic, rather than your personal mental health maintenance. As in, because you can absolutely burnout at even the best organizations, it's indicative of other stuff. If the workplace is shit, get out. Whether you move immediately into another position or not depends on whether you're burning/burnt out. If you are, then you gotta give yourself more time not working generally.

Re: Burnoutindex.org

#162
post #58

I burnt out several years ago, I was way past the point of return before I realized. I ended up changing jobs, and took a few vacations... even then recovery was slow. After that I returned pretty strong. Since then there have been a few times I recognized it happening again, but being cognizant of the signs goes a long ways towards preventing it.

Same thing. I've never held a job longer then two years. Not because of incapable of the work but because I get so burnt I shoot myself in a foot and end up "dismissed" "fired" "redundant". I've been off work for three months now with little-to no money and it's the past three months I've only just started feeling myself again. I start work /again/ next week and I know the novelty of the new job will tick well, but w…

I'm with you man. Never held a job for more than a year or so. Though for me it is because I quit once I feel myself losing interest. Nothing gives a jolt to my apathy quite like quitting with nothing else lined up. This will prove harder once my Son is born though...

Re: Burnoutindex.org

#163

When I joined the tech industry in my early 20s and for years after, I noticed that many in their 30s or older seemed burned out. It didn't make much sense to me, because to become a tech worker takes drive and ambition and how would you just lose that one day? Now, 12 years on I can definitely see how burnout is so prevalent. It's like living in the desert and hearing about people drowning. You'd ask yourself, "how…

Heh, it rings so true. I remember being an intern and feeling a bit ashamed that I was being paid for tinkering with stuff all day. It was all novel back then and very low-pressure (of course, that's because intern-level tasks are not exactly the most important ones). And there was this 'senior developer' guy whom I of course looked up to. But soon I noticed that he was incredibly checked out and just did the bare minimum of work and browsed facebook the rest of the time. I was seriously confused.

Re: Burnoutindex.org

#164

Honest question, is someone not mentally drained after programming(or just working) all day? That has been my experience for my 10+ year career every single day. Am I doing it wrong?

My mental drainage is tied almost completely to how much I enjoy the work and/or work environment.

If the work sucks - I come home hating my job, hating my life, and wanting a new job. Therefore - I am much more drained.

If the work is relatively interesting or am just not upset with it - then I come home feeling energized or fine. (Rare these days - I really hate my job and want a new one)

This is why I find getting a new job to be extremely difficult. The more I hate my job - the more I need to interview and do technical interview prep to get out... Which needs to be done at home after work. But the more I hate my job - the more drained I am - thus, the less I am able to do those things. It ends up keeping you in the same shitty job for way longer than you want. It's almost like they thought about this...

Re: Burnoutindex.org

#165
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first time I heard about burnout was from a colleague that was just trying to go back to a job after about two years being mentally unable to do any job. It started when one day, arriving at the work, they just froze and started crying uncontrollably. It was a diagnosed condition. I am always unsure of what people are talking about when they talk about burnout. Is this panic attack that makes someone temporarily…

I think the term burnout was first applied to social workers. Just imagine the situation they are in: a steady stream of people with serious problems in their lives comes to you and you are supposed to help them. But you have so little time and power to help any particular case that you hardly seem to make any difference. And no matter what you do that stream never ends. No wonder that feelings of sheer helplessness,…

It is common with doctors also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compassion_fatigue

Re: Burnoutindex.org

#166
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was surprised when my 1/6 gave me high risk. I am very thankful for what I do and I enjoy going to work. If you answer "None" to everything, your burnout risk is low (0/6). Answering a single question with 1 (A few times a year or less) puts you at .1/6 (Mid), which goes up to .5/6. I find the results reporting of this to be rather sensationalist and the whole thing pretty useless. If you're burnt out, you probably…

Think it depends on the category. I scored a ‘mid’ with a 1.3.

I scored 'mid' with 2.1, which was rather surprising after reading the parents comments.

Re: Burnoutindex.org

#167
post #14
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No personal information is asked, so the dataset will be pretty useless for monetization (you could just computationally generate a couple of thousand of responses and pretend it was the real deal). uBlock Origin blocked one weird tracker-like third-party I didn't recognize: fullstory.com. The rest were the usual Google analytics crap.

fullstory records your entire session, which can be really useful for developers and UX folks to investigate bugs or better understand how people are using your site. It's also super creepy.

And here I was wondering if I should start Tor, as I usually do when doing anything health or politics related, but thought I was maybe being paranoid for something upvoted on HN...

Re: Burnoutindex.org

#168
post #151
post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends on what you mean by apathy. I'd look up the definition for you, but honestly I can't be bothered. Hyuk hyuk. Anyway: I am incredibly productive in my ops job, where I feel like the platforms I support are largely meaningless and do nothing but drive efficiency to achieve nothing important for no one in particular. I feel I am driving 'value creation' for people whose wealth is already immeasurable, in a wa…

> I have absolutely no passion for my job Are you talking about the job itself, or the thing being produced? I don't care about the products my company makes, and I think that's a good thing, at least for me. When I've cared deeply about the actual thing being made in the past, that led to emotional attachment, which sucks when your idea doesn't win. It also led me to tend to bias effort towards my own particular hob…

I don't care about either of those things.

I'm an internet plumber, or maybe a computer mechanic. I keep the lights on the a/c working, and it's not for me to question wherefore.

I do my job and do it well because if I'm doing it I may as well do it right, but that's a philosophy for life in general.

Re: Burnoutindex.org

#169
post #142
post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't on topic, but assuming you were serious about writing novels in your free time - I enjoyed this comment so much I read it several times, and probably will come back and read it again at some point in the semi-distant future. You have a wonderful way with words.

I was serious about the writing and the cocktail bar. I owe you a heartfelt thank-you: It plainly and honestly brings me an incredible happiness when people compliment my writing.

Well, fwiw, I had the same reaction. You made me laugh and at the end I thought, that was a damn well-written HN comment.

Re: Burnoutindex.org

#170
post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends on what you mean by apathy. I'd look up the definition for you, but honestly I can't be bothered. Hyuk hyuk. Anyway: I am incredibly productive in my ops job, where I feel like the platforms I support are largely meaningless and do nothing but drive efficiency to achieve nothing important for no one in particular. I feel I am driving 'value creation' for people whose wealth is already immeasurable, in a wa…

Nah, sounds like you're doing fine. I'd point out that (IMO) you feel like you DO provide value, that you are good at what you do, recognized for it, and there aren't active negatives in your work environment. All that's lacking is a meaningful "greater purpose" that results from the value you provide. Which is fine, although may eventually transition to less than fine.

Thanks. I didn't really think I wasn't doing well enough, but affirmation is always welcome.

As for producing value, yeah, I absolutely crush it in terms of value. I'm spitting out value left and right. If you could measure the amount of value I produce, it's an ever growing number, way way way in the black, guys on the stock market floor screaming 'buy buy buy'. Value practically oozes from my pores. If value were electricity, I could power a small city.

Not sure what that means, though.

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