Live data from Hacker News

Regretting the Golden Handcuffs: Beware the Costs of Burnout

lyonheart.us

31–40 of 102 posts

Re: Regretting the Golden Handcuffs: Beware the Costs of Burnout

#31

> The sad thing about the metrics-driven performance culture the Times describes at Amazon is studies show overworked people perform worse. I'm glad the author made this point and backed it up with a reference. It reaffirms something I already believed (whether on the basis of personal experience, something I'd read before, or mere wishful thinking, I couldn't tell you so the reference helps). It is a sensible constr…

But what if "8 hours a day" isn't the magic number for everyone?

What if for some people, the magic number to avoid burnout is 4 hours a day? Or the other end of the spectrum...12?

Re: Regretting the Golden Handcuffs: Beware the Costs of Burnout

#32
post #27

What are people's thoughts/experiences with burnout happening without overtime? Over the past few years I've grown more and more bored at work. Even switching jobs from different ends of the spectrum didn't fix this. I can get myself into flow but it seems to take more and more will power as time goes on. Different tech challenges help, but it's nothing like my halcyon days of straight out of college. Of coming into…

You might be depressed. Consider seeing a therapist, even just once or twice?

Re: Regretting the Golden Handcuffs: Beware the Costs of Burnout

#33

I worked extremely hard at my last start-up to the point of being completely burnt out. I'm happy because it made me stronger, but I'll never forget being over and for about 4-5 months after, never looking at a computer. I didn't want anything to do with them for awhile, and pursued a vicious "I'm gonna go pro in golf" campaign (can't take the idealism/ambition out of a true entrepreneur). I'm really happy now, but I…

Do you have any tips for combating burnout that worked well for you? I'm starting to feel the signs of burnout (which probably means I'm actually in deeper than I think), and I'd like to try to head this off before it gets worse. I know setting hard boundaries for work/non work and taking chunks of time for yourself is a good start, but would love to hear if you had any more advice? Thanks!

While this might not be the right thing to say, I feel compelled to say it nevertheless: nothing can hurt you unless you give it power to do so.

When I was in the heat of it and naturally did not want to work, I eventually reached a place of working zen -- I will try to do what I can, and forget about my imagined needs of this or that. I simply stared at the screen if I didn't know the buttons to press. This is the experience that I am proud of and that makes me say "I'm happy I went through that."

Too often, we mistake our own fears for limitations, and limitations we do have, we treat as if they were unmalleable. While I always want people to look out for their mental health, I also want people to know what it means to give it their all because I know that teaches you how to break through your self-imposed limitations and grow into an even stronger wo/man.

My advice is to always keep one day for yourself. For me, it's Sunday. Sunday, if I want to work, I work (and when it's that way, work doesn't always feel like work). If I don't want to work, no one can say anything. This gives you time to not think at all about work, which should give you time to stay in system 1 and heal.

What's a real killer is all that unnecessary anxiety and general negative emotions coming from _thinking_ about your work that is hurting you. When you're away from work, stop thinking about work. It's not prudent or responsible of you to be stressing out about something that isn't even going on right now. When it's time to rest, you rest. When it's time to work, you work. It seems simple, but it's the blurred gray area in between the two that affects people the most. When I worked very hard and hit my "work zen mode", it was here that I began to let go of things like what does my boss think or what does my coworker think or some other-nonsense-BS-anxious-thing that has nothing to do with actual work.

I hope it helps. I'm really no huge expert myself, but I am usually the hardest person in the room.

Re: Regretting the Golden Handcuffs: Beware the Costs of Burnout

#34

I worked extremely hard at my last start-up to the point of being completely burnt out. I'm happy because it made me stronger, but I'll never forget being over and for about 4-5 months after, never looking at a computer. I didn't want anything to do with them for awhile, and pursued a vicious "I'm gonna go pro in golf" campaign (can't take the idealism/ambition out of a true entrepreneur). I'm really happy now, but I…

Do you have any tips for combating burnout that worked well for you? I'm starting to feel the signs of burnout (which probably means I'm actually in deeper than I think), and I'd like to try to head this off before it gets worse. I know setting hard boundaries for work/non work and taking chunks of time for yourself is a good start, but would love to hear if you had any more advice? Thanks!

Qigong worked wonders for me, 30 mins a day 7 days a week. Learn to treat it as a ritual so you won't fall out of the habit easily.

p.s. there are a lot of charlatans, so you have to find an actually talented teacher

Re: Regretting the Golden Handcuffs: Beware the Costs of Burnout

#35
post #27

What are people's thoughts/experiences with burnout happening without overtime? Over the past few years I've grown more and more bored at work. Even switching jobs from different ends of the spectrum didn't fix this. I can get myself into flow but it seems to take more and more will power as time goes on. Different tech challenges help, but it's nothing like my halcyon days of straight out of college. Of coming into…

I'd suggest a therapist, honestly.

If it was just work, I'd say it was certainly just burnout. However, when its pretty much your whole life [it sounds like], it could be depression.

I'm always motivated to do at least a good chunk of my "after work" activities, every week. But yeah, work, ehhhhhhh I'm just not happy unless I'm working on something I'm proud of and that comes along maybe once every 18 months.

Re: Regretting the Golden Handcuffs: Beware the Costs of Burnout

#36

I have never said to myself "I wish I had stuck around that company longer." I have often said "I should have left much sooner." I'm sure there are some examples of someone leaving when lightning was about to strike and make all the insiders rich. Those instances are even more rare than start-up successes making employees rich.

I left a company to go back to school (took on massive loans). A few months later, the company closed up and people got extremely generous severances. Would have probably covered half my tuition costs. I definitely wish I had stuck around THAT company longer!

Re: Regretting the Golden Handcuffs: Beware the Costs of Burnout

#37
post #27

What are people's thoughts/experiences with burnout happening without overtime? Over the past few years I've grown more and more bored at work. Even switching jobs from different ends of the spectrum didn't fix this. I can get myself into flow but it seems to take more and more will power as time goes on. Different tech challenges help, but it's nothing like my halcyon days of straight out of college. Of coming into…

It's not as much about how many hours you work so much as how much of your life revolves around your job. Ask yourself this: if things aren't going well in your job, what happens? If your life revolves around one thing and that thing goes badly, it affects your whole life. Having more things outside of work helps a great deal.

Re: Regretting the Golden Handcuffs: Beware the Costs of Burnout

#38
post #27

What are people's thoughts/experiences with burnout happening without overtime? Over the past few years I've grown more and more bored at work. Even switching jobs from different ends of the spectrum didn't fix this. I can get myself into flow but it seems to take more and more will power as time goes on. Different tech challenges help, but it's nothing like my halcyon days of straight out of college. Of coming into…

I've been at it in this industry for over 20 years now and I don't get the kind of clinical burn-out that the author is talking about. I get tired and take a day off, go on vacation or whatever. I also have never had the luxury of being able to go traveling for 6 months (or perhaps I have never just prioritized my life to make that possible).

Perhaps it could be if you have supported yourself with a draining, minimum wage job, and a 2nd one in the evenings, struggling to pay rent, then your tolerance for computer work may be much higher? Whenever I get tired, I just have to remember back to my days of slinging cheeseburgers and I feel content with my current situation.

Re: Regretting the Golden Handcuffs: Beware the Costs of Burnout

#39
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Full agree on the non-compete. However, the search of personal devices after you've conducted business seems legitimate to me. If they need to investigate the evidence to understand the exposure/whatever in the event a situation arises where you used your personal device, they obviously need access. They are simply trying to neutralize the excuse that "its your personal device and you have no authority to search it",…

"However, the search of personal devices after you've conducted business seems legitimate to me" So, the founder calls your personal cellphone on the weekend and asks a couple of business questions. You come in on Monday and they lawyer points to the clause in your contract. I'm pretty sure reasonable goes out the window. Intent and the words you signed need to match or you can get seriously hosed.

I see your point here. A principled person might refuse to answer the phone, or call back from the business phone, but that is fairly impractical I would admit. My only point here was it seems reasonable for the employer to ask for the world. If it's really worth getting spun up, perhaps you could find out if there is a better version of this boiler plate which respects your privacy.

For what it's worth, at my own employer, the phrase is not so open ended, and I suspect it's the same with others:

"Users who use their non-BIGCORP-email (read that as personal) or IM accounts for any BIGCORP business agree to provide BIGCORP with full access to those account, in the event such is necessary to comply with a discovery request or legal mandate"

Re: Regretting the Golden Handcuffs: Beware the Costs of Burnout

#40
post #27

What are people's thoughts/experiences with burnout happening without overtime? Over the past few years I've grown more and more bored at work. Even switching jobs from different ends of the spectrum didn't fix this. I can get myself into flow but it seems to take more and more will power as time goes on. Different tech challenges help, but it's nothing like my halcyon days of straight out of college. Of coming into…

I don't think it is burnout -- like you said you experience it as boredom, which I think is a different thing. To cure boredom at work, I've always felt starting a brand new project using new tech and with a new team works.

But being bored at work can lead to feelings of depression if you feel like you aren't really accomplishing anything.

Post reply on HN