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I Knew a Programmer Who Went Completely Insane

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Re: I Knew a Programmer Who Went Completely Insane

#61

Post by motters »

This sounds like the final destination of burnout. Probably there should be more education about the effects of overworking on mental/physical health so that people can recognise bad situations when they're getting into them and pull out before it leads to self-destruction. Also the fault is partly on the management side. A good manager should notice if a particular person seems to be working a lot longer than anyone else under relentless deadlines and intervene.

While I've never seen anything as bad as in this article I have seen situations where the mild-mannered and earnest tech guy tries to be accommodating to help the company (and sometimes also in the expectation that their efforts will be recognised or rewarded) but really just ends up getting taken advantage of. On odd occasions (especially in the early part of my career) I have even been that guy.

Re: I Knew a Programmer Who Went Completely Insane

#62

Post by zer0gravity »

yen223 wrote: post #47
oyvindeh wrote: post #13

This is sad, but it's also plain old human psychology. If you help someone out, you put yourself in an inferior position. If you're always the one sacrificing yourself, people around you will feel more and more superior to you. At some point, they will start expecting that you sacrifice yourself whenever shit hits the fan. This doesn't mean it's bad to help out, or to sacrifice yourself once in a while. But in order…

> If you help someone out, you put yourself in an inferior position. What? This doesn't make sense. When you help someone out, you are putting that person in an inferior position. Does a beggar feel superior to you because you tossed him a quarter?

And this is precisely how the guy from the story thought, that's why he was saying he should be CEO, but the reality was different, because he was treated more like a slave..

Re: I Knew a Programmer Who Went Completely Insane

#63

Post by cynusx »

Since nobody here said it, if you ever happen in this situation were management dodges accountability for their actions or doesn't understand they are accountable. then there are two options.

1. Stay: dissociate yourself from the work and the outcome of your work 2. Quit: start looking for companies that are a better fit for your professional pride and when you've found one, jump ship.

Technical skills are still rare, you're not working in a supermarket here. you've got options.

Re: I Knew a Programmer Who Went Completely Insane

#64

Post by nicholassmith »

I worked with a guy who was an incredibly talented developer, and it was his first 'proper' development job. He was smart and good at what he did, and made a good impression, however as time progressed and the reality of ever shifting goal posts and getting half the time you really need to do something took it's toll.

Eventually he went to the doctor, who diagnosed a stress related condition and he was prescribed meds which helped for a while. But, it's that melting pot and eventually he snapped, smashed a keyboard and then threw a monitor onto the floor. I took the time to try and help and he realised whilst he loved dev work, he just couldn't deal with the stress of working inside a business and decided to give up.

It's a hard industry, I'm personally surprised there's not a much higher rate of stress related illness and depression. We've all probably skirted the burnout zone on a regular basis, long term that's not going to be great for anyone. I'd say the increase in startups being lead by technically gifted people who've done development should help, but there still seems to be an acceptance of push and push until you break or the job is done.

Re: I Knew a Programmer Who Went Completely Insane

#66

Post by olivier1664 »

iSnow wrote: post #42
qompiler wrote: post #17

Here is my advice, if you think you are really that good, start your own company. Proof it, let the market test you.

Great developer not necessarily make great founders or leaders.

Exactly, if the guy can not manage to have a raise for himself, he will probably not be a good sales/leaders/foounders.

Re: I Knew a Programmer Who Went Completely Insane

#67

Post by j-kidd »

masklinn wrote: post #49
annymsMthd wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a similar situation happen to me, minus the going crazy part. If you constantly have to clean up because of the bad decisions of a manager then you should just leave that company. Don't bust your ass trying to make a difference and change minds that don't want to change. If you are an employee you are expendable.

> Don't bust your ass trying to make a difference and change minds that don't want to change. Exactly. Either leave or just coast by doing the necessary minimum and keep your stress buffers and brainpower for interesting personal stuff

I am not sure if the "just coast" advice would work. The source of stress is still there, still sapping away all the mental power, still occupying your brain during shower.

Re: I Knew a Programmer Who Went Completely Insane

#68

Post by j-kidd »

psionski wrote: post #52
angersock wrote: post #15

Work-life balance is really important, and having a safety net outside of your workplace and project is key to not going completely batshit. What's really bad is to find yourself in a position where you see your cofounder/coworker the vast majority of the time, and your work/project gets tangled up in the normal ebb and flow of the relationship. You really, really don't want to get into a loop where you need to decom…

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” ― Albert Einstein Find a hobby :)

All football fans in the world agree with Albert Einstein :)

Re: I Knew a Programmer Who Went Completely Insane

#69

Post by pootch »

Im a programmer, ten times better than any of you. I have been in a mental hospital twice in the past 3 years. Once because I was so high up in the US Govt that I was being run by the mafia. And Second because it took me almost a year to shake it off after I quit. I was bribed, I was threatened, and it drove me off a cliff from which I have still not recovered. Be careful what you wish for.

Re: I Knew a Programmer Who Went Completely Insane

#70

Post by noptic »

It is far to easy to fall into this trap. At my last job my boss always tryed to finish all my tickets until a friend in managment told me about a conversation he had with our boss. It boils down to: "Does he gt his work done?" "Yes, sometimes he has to stay in late but he gets the job done" "Then we are not giving him enough work. If there are days where he gets the job done and leave on time, there must be times when he finishes his tickets before office hours are over."

At my new job things are a lot better. When I started I screwed up a couple of times because I tryed to make things work by putting in over time and fighting until the last minute when things went south, where all I had to do was tell the mangment why I need more time / manpower like anyone else in my company.

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