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Whether you’re a seasoned engineering leader or more junior in your career, burnout can take a real toll on your mental health.
Burnout is not just a buzzword in the tech industry; it’s a genuine, widespread challenge. The fast pace of innovation and high expectations can drain even the most passionate individuals. However, managing stress in the workplace can be a mystery for many – recovering from burnout even more so. Understanding the root of burnout is the first step to preventing and, if necessary, overcoming it.
What is burnout?
Burnout is a deep sense of mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion. It causes detachment and a low sense of achievement. A survey by Yerbo found that 62% of IT workers feel “drained.” When narrowing the focus to managers, a Hubstaff report showed that 53% feel burned out.
Burnout often sprouts from prolonged stress, toxic work environments, and too much pressure. It may also result from a heavy workload, poor culture, and a work-life imbalance.
Stress vs. burnout
Many tech professionals sometimes confuse burnout with stress. Stress comes from a short-term activity, has specific causes, and clears off after some rest. Burnout is different; it is a deep sense of mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion. Burnout is long-term and has no specific cause. It makes even simple tasks feel draining. Recovery takes much time and effort. It is important to note that prolonged stress can be a major catalyst for burnout.
What are the symptoms?
Common burnout symptoms in tech professionals include:
- Chronic fatigue
- Detachment
- Exhaustion
- Anxiety
- Cynicism
- Decreased productivity
- Low motivation
- Lack of passion for enjoyable activities
- Absenteeism
- Social withdrawal
- Overreacting to feedback
- Neglecting responsibilities
Consequences of burnout
Impact on health
Burnout leads to a decline in both physical and mental health. It can result in depression, insomnia, heart attacks, headaches, and sometimes alcoholism. A former Uber engineer, Susan Fowler, revealed how the company’s toxic culture caused burnout and affected her mental health. She felt defeated and isolated and ultimately left after a year as a result.
Impact on productivity and work
Burnout doesn’t only affect individuals; it also has a profound effect on company performance. Burned-out employees are 2.6 times more likely to job hunt, reducing company output and productivity. And it’s no secret that high employee turnover is costly, leading to the loss of skilled workers, high expenses to hire new ones, lower productivity during training, a bad company reputation, a loss of innovation, and more.
Adam Neumann, the co-founder of WeWork, faced extreme burnout as the company grew. His intense work habits and the high demands of scaling led to erratic behavior. In 2019, the company nearly collapsed due to financial issues, investor pressure, and tough leadership decisions.
Impact on relationships
Burnout places strain on professional and personal relationships. Apart from work relationships, which can present as isolation, increased conflict, and a negative attitude, it can also lead to family issues and less time and energy to engage with loved ones. Burnout affects communication and causes irritability due to mental and physical exhaustion.
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Tips for managing stress and recovering from burnout
Establish clear work-life boundaries:
It is important to set clear boundaries between work and your personal life. Avoid getting caught up in work emails, messages, and meetings outside work time.
Timeboxing can help you set out a schedule for personal, relationship, and work activities. Do activities that invest in you. Focus on hygiene, sleep, and solo trips. Try turning off notifications or using the “do not disturb” setting. It could help you relax and invest in relationships.
Clear work boundaries ensure professionalism. Microsoft Japan experienced a 40% increase in productivity after testing four-day work weeks. This experiment showed that reducing work hours can boost output. It can also lower stress and burnout in employees.
Prioritize tasks and manage time effectively
Breaking down your tasks into small, manageable steps can help minimize distractions such as checking emails, switching tabs, googling unrelated concepts, chatting with colleagues, and scrolling social media.
You should be able to prioritize the most important part of your work and do it deeply. A simple tip is to set a time for certain tasks. These include checking emails, sending proposals, researching, writing sales copies, and attending meetings. Use the five P’s of time management: prioritize, plan, prepare, pace, and persist.
Take regular breaks and practice mindfulness
Always include breaks in your schedule to refresh your brain and prevent mental fatigue. These breaks should be away from your devices. Nature walks and fresh air could boost productivity. So could short naps, healthy meals, and an organized workspace.
Google now lets engineers use 20% of their work time on projects they are passionate about. This initiative has led to successful products like Gmail and AdSense. Google’s policy to let employees pursue personal projects has reduced burnout. It has also maintained employees’ creativity and innovation.
Automate tasks and learn to delegate:
As a leader, it can be tempting to take on too much. But avoid avoid doing everything, even if you can.
Delegate responsibilities to colleagues or team members with the skills and aptitude to manage them. Besides reducing your burden, delegation promotes cooperation and allows team members to grow as team members often work together when assigned tasks. It empowers your colleagues by giving them ownership of functions.
Automation apps like Zapier and Planly could cut time on repetitive tasks such as data syncing, ticket creation, notifications, backups, testing, and onboarding workflows
Stay physically active
Regular exercise is crucial for stress management and health. This includes stretching, strengthening, deep breathing, and aerobic exercises like dancing, hiking, cycling, and brisk walking.
Seek support and build connections
Creating a network of people who support you can be a great way to reduce stress and gain insightful information. Whether they’re colleagues, friends, or your managers, ensure to seek support when needed.
For your colleagues, you can start by telling them that you feel exhausted and ask if they feel the same.
Speaking to your manager requires a different approach. You could initiate the conversation with a statement like, “I’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately, and it’s starting to affect my productivity. Is there a way we can prioritize my tasks or temporarily reduce my workload? I think that could help me get back on track.”
If your manager reduces your workload, gives you time off, and provides resources, but the issue persists, you may need mental health support.
Many big tech companies, like Microsoft, Buffer, and Google, have taken drastic measures to help employees with burnout. From Buffer’s “mental health days” to the “Microsoft Cares” initiative, they are working to create a supportive culture that addresses burnout and mental well-being proactively.
Celebrate achievements and reflect
Acknowledge and celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small, to boost your morale and motivation. Celebrating achievements can help maintain a positive mindset and resilience during challenging times.
Take time off
Use your vacation days and take regular time off to rest and recharge. Completely disconnect from work during this period to help you unwind and return with renewed energy and focus.
Reflect and adjust
Regularly reflect on your work-life balance and stress levels. The best form of reflection is daily reflection. Take a few minutes to write down the time spent on work, rest, and socials. Analyze if there were moments when work interfered with your personal life. Check if the task you are doing can be delegated. Measure how happy and satisfied you are.
Final thoughts
When motivated and supported in your work, you do more, which is significantly less stressful on overall health and well-being. Burnout is a big problem in the tech industry but can be managed with the right strategies and a supportive workplace. By spotting the signs early and acting, tech professionals can stay productive and enjoy their careers.
