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Ask HN: How common is developer burnout? Have you ever been burnt out?

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Re: Ask HN: How common is developer burnout? Have you ever been burnt out?

#71

Post by JohnBrookz »

RemoteIsHeaven wrote: post #61
JohnBrookz wrote: post #48

Yes. I work at a very comfortable job with decent pay and benefits. What burns me out is the bureaucracy, politics and having to deal with people who simply aren’t curious or interested about anything in the slightest leading the charge. I’ve been working on a startup on the side with my friend for almost a year now and the work has rarely ever burnt me out.

> I’ve been working on a startup on the side with my friend for almost a year now and the work has rarely ever burnt me out. Well done! I explained this paradox in my root comment here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39809297 Curious to hear what your thoughts are

I think this would apply to most people but really it’s just how capitalism works.

I think for some people the value of starting is business is having control of who you surround yourself with.

I want to work with ambitious, smart and kind people who actively want to build a better world. I wouldn’t mind working at a company like that even if the job was tough.

Unfortunately most companies are ran by greedy ambitious people with no wisdom or care for tomorrow. Long term is end of the year for these people and big picture expands only to the business they work in. The people you work with aren’t any better either typically.

So really the only option is to build a company.

Re: Ask HN: How common is developer burnout? Have you ever been burnt out?

#72

Post by juancn »

I like it mixed, periods of high stress, challenging work, followed by periods of mellow coasting doing simple jobs (even repetitive jobs).

If I stay too long on the high stress, I burn out and tend to snap at coworkers (it brings out my aggression), if I stay too long on the coasting phase, I get bored and get an urge to do something else (I miss the highs of the high stress situation).

As I advanced in my career I get a bit more control on what I do, so I get to pick most of my battles.

In any case, as I got more experience, situations that used to be stressful no longer feel that way to me, so the next challenge needs to push me further from my comfort zone.

Re: Ask HN: How common is developer burnout? Have you ever been burnt out?

#73

Post by indymike »

RemoteIsHeaven wrote: post #19

The root cause of burnout - be it coding or otherwise, is when expectations don't match reality. In most cases, people want to do meaningful work and see their work having real impact on the world. If you spent all your waking hours, eating ramen all the while, building something that has outsized impact on the world, you won't be burnt out - quite the opposite! OTOH, you can even get burnt out doing almost nothing a…

> The root cause of burnout - be it coding or otherwise, is when expectations don't match reality.

When I've been the person suffering from burnout it's often because I've been led to believe something is important and it turns out that it was both unimportant and extra. I put in tons of extra work, and then the whole project turns out to be worthless.

Re: Ask HN: How common is developer burnout? Have you ever been burnt out?

#74

Post by aristofun »

Big part of the problem is wrong expectations.

A business doesn’t owe you and doesn’t care about meaning, love, higher purpose, special respect and other things commenters here mention.

It just trades your skills and time for money. That’s it.

Unfortunately companies keep exploiting this basic instinct of belonging to something bigger for their benefit.

If this thirst is not fulfilled in other ways (for example, through faith, family, social life etc) - you tend to look where the light shines, not where it can actually be found.

Then you inevitably fail in this search => feeling of burning out, like you wasted you time waiting fore some spiritual fulfillment that was never there.

But it’s a fair game - employees have their own set of tools and tricks to maximize profits.

Re: Ask HN: How common is developer burnout? Have you ever been burnt out?

#75

Post by disqard »

aristofun wrote: post #74

Big part of the problem is wrong expectations. A business doesn’t owe you and doesn’t care about meaning, love, higher purpose, special respect and other things commenters here mention. It just trades your skills and time for money. That’s it. Unfortunately companies keep exploiting this basic instinct of belonging to something bigger for their benefit. If this thirst is not fulfilled in other ways (for example, thro…

Well-stated! Once one understands The Game, one can see that playing is a choice -- sure, it goes against the grain of the hedonistic treadmill, but you can definitely craft (and play) your own game. Having a fulfilling/interesting set of things to engage in outside of work, can be very helpful for this.

Re: Ask HN: How common is developer burnout? Have you ever been burnt out?

#76

Post by pylua »

javman wrote: post #70

I worked for a small contracting company that did work for several larger (but not FAANG) companies for >10 years. I quit 1.5 years ago after being burned out for quite a while, and I'm enjoying life for now. The thought of going back to work is a little stressful, and I'm holding out for as long as possible :) Reasons for my burn out: - Unreasonable expectations from stakeholders. "We need x, y, and z done by Friday…

Being in contracting for software is rough. All the crap rolls down the hill to you from both the customer and internal stakeholders.

Re: Ask HN: How common is developer burnout? Have you ever been burnt out?

#77

Post by paulcole »

lolinder wrote: post #18

It's very common. If you search hn.algolia.com you'll turn up lots of articles and discussions, but this one [0] is the one that has stuck with me. Particularly that top comment by markdjacobsen: > One of my later insights was that burnout doesn't merely entail working too much (although that's certainly part of it); burnout often involves pouring too much of your heart and soul into something that does not love you…

> It's very common.

This is like thinking that most comedians are depressed. The average/happy ones make for much less interesting stories.

Yeah there’s lots of HN posts about “burnt out” developers but does that really mean it’s common? There’s lots of programmers.

Re: Ask HN: How common is developer burnout? Have you ever been burnt out?

#78

Post by paulcole »

A big part of the problem is that everybody just makes up their own definition of “burnt out.”

Another part of the problem is that people who were good in school or good at passing interviews get frustrated when the real world is nothing like school or job interviews. They just don’t know how to handle uncertainty and a lack of the next external validation of achievement.

Another part of the problem is people thinking that they deserve to be happy at work. They can be happy at work, but it’s on you to make it happen. Your employer’s got goals and making you happy isn’t very high on the list if it’s there at all.

Re: Ask HN: How common is developer burnout? Have you ever been burnt out?

#80

Post by aristofun »

disqard wrote: post #75
aristofun wrote: post #74

Big part of the problem is wrong expectations. A business doesn’t owe you and doesn’t care about meaning, love, higher purpose, special respect and other things commenters here mention. It just trades your skills and time for money. That’s it. Unfortunately companies keep exploiting this basic instinct of belonging to something bigger for their benefit. If this thirst is not fulfilled in other ways (for example, thro…

Well-stated! Once one understands The Game, one can see that playing is a choice -- sure, it goes against the grain of the hedonistic treadmill, but you can definitely craft (and play) your own game. Having a fulfilling/interesting set of things to engage in outside of work, can be very helpful for this.

> Having a fulfilling/interesting set of things to engage in outside of work, can be very helpful for this.

I'd say it is crucial and was always like that until less than 100 years ago (and in poor countires still is) - job (any job from delivery guy to CEO) was just a job, and meaning was searched for in community, church, family etc.

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