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Half of Workers Around the World Are Struggling with Burnout

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Re: Half of Workers Around the World Are Struggling with Burnout

#41

Post by snapcaster »

ikety wrote: post #25

I used to be an employee that would kill themselves for even minimum wage. I think being a hard worker regardless of reward is an honorable trait, but keeping that up for decades is difficult. Naturally I am very loyal and agreeable. I like to solve raw engineering problems, but also social ones. I find a way to adapt to pretty much anything and anyone. This almost always ends with my employer exploiting me. Recently…

Why did you think being a hard worker regardless of reward is an honorable trait? I don't mean any disrespect but when i read sentences like that all that pops into my head is "sucker"

Re: Half of Workers Around the World Are Struggling with Burnout

#42

Post by drawkward »

marginalia_nu wrote: post #7
bdcravens wrote: post #3

Most people don't have "fulfilling" jobs. They have a paycheck. A very small percentage of Americans, let alone those around the world, have the privilege of analyzing how their job makes them feel. I get paid great money to play with computers. My father was an elementary school janitor.

Big part of the problem is arguably alienation. A janitorial job can be rewarding because you can see that you are making a difference in the world. You get to meet the people whose lives are improved by what you do, every day. Filling out spreadsheets, it can be hard to tell what the purpose of what you are doing, whom it benefits, and how the world would be worse off if you simply didn't show up.

Unless you have had a career as a janitor, it is extremely patronizing to tell the janitors of the world how fulfilling they should find their jobs.

Re: Half of Workers Around the World Are Struggling with Burnout

#43

Post by btbuildem »

23B1 wrote: post #6

- Good access to resources - Senior managerial support - Psychological safety with direct manager - Fair and equal opportunity for success These are all leadership solves. Not process solves, not spending solves. Leadership. It's ironic that consultancies like BCG – who are masters of technocratic administration, would post this! Innovation excellence is great. Technical excellence is great. You also need soft-skills…

They cater to their audience. And, they would not dare to suggest anything that costs money.

Re: Half of Workers Around the World Are Struggling with Burnout

#44

Post by marginalia_nu »

drawkward wrote: post #42
marginalia_nu wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Big part of the problem is arguably alienation. A janitorial job can be rewarding because you can see that you are making a difference in the world. You get to meet the people whose lives are improved by what you do, every day. Filling out spreadsheets, it can be hard to tell what the purpose of what you are doing, whom it benefits, and how the world would be worse off if you simply didn't show up.

Unless you have had a career as a janitor, it is extremely patronizing to tell the janitors of the world how fulfilling they should find their jobs.

Why is that?

Re: Half of Workers Around the World Are Struggling with Burnout

#45

Post by velcrovan »

billy99k wrote: post #36

I stated my own consulting company a few years ago. Right now, it's just me. But I plan on hiring employees at some point. Consulting has prevented me from burnout. I almost never have to deal with bullshit corporate politics and if I hate a project, I find a new client.

I am doing that very thing this year. It's already amazing how much brighter the world seems.

Re: Half of Workers Around the World Are Struggling with Burnout

#46

Post by mrits »

rtpg wrote: post #15
bdcravens wrote: post #3

Most people don't have "fulfilling" jobs. They have a paycheck. A very small percentage of Americans, let alone those around the world, have the privilege of analyzing how their job makes them feel. I get paid great money to play with computers. My father was an elementary school janitor.

I don't want to exotisize "blue collar" labor. That being said, I've always wondered if burnout ends up being more likely in roles where you feel like you're suppose to care. Being bored all the time is annoying and sucks, but being in a thing where you feel like you _shouldn't_ be bored and yet are also sucks. Does it suck more? Not sure!

Value usually comes out of blue collar labor. Almost no value comes out of lucrative tech jobs. The tech that is making the world a better place usually has so many alternatives it wouldn't matter if you closed up shop or not.

Re: Half of Workers Around the World Are Struggling with Burnout

#49

Post by BobbyTables2 »

smithrj wrote: post #16

I used to think my burnout was from long hours, but I recently got a chance to work on a greenfield project at work and loved every second of the 60-70h weeks just building something really cool with a small team. The burnout nearly vanished during this time and only recently has started to reappear and I have a much better understanding now of what causes burnout for me specifically.

Indeed. The excitement of an interesting greenfield project is hard to beat. Works seems better than play on those days. The harder the task, the better!

In all modesty, I feel I can be a 10X or 100X on such, but it’s hard to let go and end up thinking about work constantly after hours too.

But when the task is to update documentation or fix a random test pipeline failure on a Legacy product, the energy doesn’t come so easily…

Re: Half of Workers Around the World Are Struggling with Burnout

#50

Post by AlexanderDhoore »

smithrj wrote: post #16

I used to think my burnout was from long hours, but I recently got a chance to work on a greenfield project at work and loved every second of the 60-70h weeks just building something really cool with a small team. The burnout nearly vanished during this time and only recently has started to reappear and I have a much better understanding now of what causes burnout for me specifically.

Is it normal in the US for software developers to work 60-70 hour weeks? I understand this is the case in hip startup culture, but what about normal, boring companies? I work as an embedded software developer in Belgium, and here 40 hours is normal.
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