This is not much different than the fact that oversleeping during the weekend does not help with the sleep deprivation during the past week... or weeks. One needs to rest. Every. Day.
Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
71–80 of 239 posts
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
Certainly, there’s a lot of old entrenched unions who have come to rest on their past laurels and are now mired in bureaucracy and self-satisfaction. One would easily imagine a software engineering union to be the complete opposite of that, as such a union would be completely new and hungry.
But a union will eventually slowly devolve into that example as more and more rules and restrictions are added. Unions have so many benefits but I feel like any time a union dictates how the work is supposed to be done I hate it. That's why I'm super conflicted. It feel like I'd lose a lot of flexibility afforded to me if I joined a union and had to start playing by their rules. At the same time, I think software eng…
a union dictates how the work is supposed to be done
I'm not quite sure what you mean by that. How do unions dictate the way you perform your duties?
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#73Not only is it not the answer, vacation can actually be a contributor to burnout, IME. In my current role, taking PTO is a legitimate punishment . If I take a day off, there is nobody else on my team who has capacity to pick up my work in my absence. When I return from PTO, not only do I now have double the amount of work to catch up on, but I also have 15 emails from angry managers upset that I didn't get to their r…
Weird. If you're the king of the jungle then it doesn't matter what your managers or their emails or schedules say, now does it? Take your PTO and let the rabble do their rabbling, they can't fire you or else they'd be getting rid of by far the best man on their team and they wouldn't want that, right?
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#74See also The Onion : > Man Returns To Work After Vacation With Fresh, Reenergized Hatred For Job * https://www.theonion.com/man-returns-to-work-after-vacation-...
Lol. Thanks for making my day better.
Edit: But to add to the comedy (all comedy is tragedy, and all tragedy is comedy according to the Greeks), that’s pretty much the reason why I don’t take vacations. It’s not going to change anything, so I much prefer to take days off so I don’t completely lose it.
The sadness is hilarious.
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why would you be miserable? Union dues? occasional union communication? I'm just trying to understand what hypothetical issue you feel would be super arduous.
Unions end up punishing good workers and rewarding bad ones. Believe it or not, some people enjoy their job, and enjoy being able to excel at it.
Unions do sometimes make it hard to get rid of bad workers... not sure that's the same as "rewarding" them though.
I can't think of examples of punishing good ones though. Union contracts frequently have defined procedures for requesting a merit pay increase with a mandatory review process, along with similar procedures for reclassification to a higher level position, also with more pay, when a person's scope of responsibilities shift over time to encompass more than the original job description indicated.
I'm not in a union any longer, but that happened to me when I was: I was very good a specific portion of my job and gradually took on more complicated aspects of it. I applied for reclassification. My workplace had a maximum of 21 days to review & reply to the request, which they granted, and I got a higher title & a nice 20% increase in pay.
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Agreed. We need European-style month-long vacations in the US. And sabbaticals every few years. Also we should start looking at 36 and 32-hour workweeks. We're 20x more productive than 40 years ago, yet still work the same hours or more for pay increases that barely keep up with inflation.
As a European living in the US since a decade. It starts to impact my mental health. I went from 8 weeks / years to 4 or 5. Currently 3. Ha. I cannot recharge the same way ( meaning : travel for weeks at a time, or chill hard for 2 weeks in a row ) It’s flexible all right. But I feel like I’m always working somehow. Work is near, lurking. I’m nursing a nice little depression that I feel a road trip would cure easily.…
Mind sharing where exactly in Europe is 8 weeks vacation the norm? In Austria it's 5 weeks for everyone but law and that's what most tech companies will give you as well.
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#77When I've been burned out or hated my job, I didn't take vacations, because the crushing realization that I'd have to return to work was almost worse than losing myself in the uninterrupted, repetitive, dead-eyed grind. While on vacation, I'd start thinking about the countdown to the end of the vacation. > Well, root out the real causes of burnout. I'll offer the definition that's made most sense to me. I didn't come…
This really, really resonates with me. I've been trying to address my own feelings of burnout, and I think this is a big part of it.
Frankly, it's been a while since I had a win. I think I'm gonna try to set myself up for a small success, and see how that goes. Thanks for this.
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would be so miserable if it had to deal with a union. Though to be fair I am not overworked or undervalued. I imagine there’s a lot of engineers who large companies just grind through.
No need to be miserable in a union. If you don't like the union you just don't deal with it. Ignore their meetings & other communication. In the US at least, Per the SC's Janus ruling, public unions can no longer require fees at all, and the same goes for private unions in right-to-work states.
I don’t think that’s quite so cut and dry. Sure the OP can easily ignore union politics. But I’ve seen unions defending toxic people with seniority. Good luck if the union is going to bat for someone that’s been taken to HR multiple times.
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
A lot of unions can be very 'by the book' and there can be malicious compliance. There can also be multiple unions with very specific roles. From a quick search: > If your booth is a 10×10 or smaller, you may install and dismantle your own exhibit – provided you meet these requirements: > 1. The Set-up can be accomplished in 1/2 hour or less. > 2. No tools are required. > 3. Individuals performing the work must be fu…
Certainly, there’s a lot of old entrenched unions who have come to rest on their past laurels and are now mired in bureaucracy and self-satisfaction. One would easily imagine a software engineering union to be the complete opposite of that, as such a union would be completely new and hungry.
Well from experience in the UK M&P (managerial and professional union) unions you right.
They are not into old school craft union practices.
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#80When I've been burned out or hated my job, I didn't take vacations, because the crushing realization that I'd have to return to work was almost worse than losing myself in the uninterrupted, repetitive, dead-eyed grind. While on vacation, I'd start thinking about the countdown to the end of the vacation. > Well, root out the real causes of burnout. I'll offer the definition that's made most sense to me. I didn't come…
"Burnout is caused by working hard at something for a long time and not having it pay off." Exactly. Yet most people mistakenly attribute the feeling to other causes. OP quote what people think are the causes of their own burnout, and took those at face value. When you're burnt out, you're probably not in a good state to determine the cause.
Speak for yourself. Sorry for being blunt, but you clearly know very little about burnout (good for you). If people say that they are burned out because of a bad manager, believe them instead of saying they don't know what they are talking about.
There are many reasons for burnout. Working on things that don't pay off is just one of them.