4 ms·

Wow... Seems to me that the guy is far from being over with his burnout. He's still obsessed about work, numbers... and went from reading "non-technical" books

by soufron 11y ago

Wow... Seems to me that the guy is far from being over with his burnout. He's still obsessed about work, numbers... and went from reading "non-technical" books to "self-help" books aka psychology technical books. You don't go "from" a burnout to "a better place". It's not about a lack of "equilibrium". It's not a engineering problem. It's a disease! This guy should consult, and probably get a real break. Like one or two years off resting.

brianwawok 11y ago
If you are the sole provider for a family, as seems to be the case here, you can't just take a year or two break. Sad maybe, but someone has to pay the rent and buy food.
- soufron 11y ago
  Well, when you're sick, you're sick. But maybe I am overestimating it. What I am sure of, it that you need a real time off, not working at all - a few months at least. And it's not about "feeling better", it's about curing your disease.
  - bcook 11y ago
    When the majority of my country's citizens are sick (aka "unable to work"), virtually all of their financial benefits disappear (even in my great country, the USA) because they have no universal health-care and non-wealthy parents.
    - soufron 11y ago
      Wow, where do you live?
      - chris_wot 11y ago
        Seems to be a U.S. thing. Seriously, it's totally weird how this works...
    - actcutemonster 11y ago
      This isn't unique to the US. Very few countries allows you to have the government pay your bills. Even known "welfare" countries aren't even going to put up with that without requiring you to cut substantial costs. So if you got kids, mortgage, partner you're pretty much stuck for.
- evook 11y ago
  If he has an insurance and is officially ill he could sign up for pay compensation. The first year he would receive 100% of his gross and 70% after the first.
  - brianwawok 11y ago
    So long term disability? I think his health benefits would get cut during this time. And can you really get 2 years off work for being burned out? I have no idea, but my understanding is you need some serious doctor notes to get classified as disabled.
    - evook 11y ago
      Unable to work doesn't mean you're disabled in Germany. Of course it takes 2 to 3 appointments at the doctor to get the insurance prescription, but I don't know any case where that was a problem at all.
    - runarb 11y ago
      If he lives in Norway, as indicated in the blogpost, his doctor can give him sick leave for up to 1 year. The state will compensate his salary 100%. If one is still sick after 1 year one can apply for permanent disability. Permanent disability will probably be around 66% of one’s previous salary, but no less then 25 000$ per year and no more then 65 000$ per year. One can additional apply for some special benefits like housing subsidy, child benefits etc if needed.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
- at-fates-hands 11y ago
  While this is true, a change of scenery can always be a way to take a few days off and recharge your batteries. Most of the time when I realized I was hurtling towards a burnout, I would simply start interviewing, and once I landed a new gig, made it mandatory to have at least a week buffer between the end of one gig and the start of the other. The important thing here is I didn't do ANYTHING AT ALL that week. Sure, I cleaned the house, went biking, and generally stopped to smell the roses, but I made sure not to write a line of code, look at code or even think about code that whole week. When you're burned out, your body and mind shut down. Being able to re-engage your brain and body properly and give them the break they deserve does wonders. Even having a week just to shutdown and restart over does amazing things for your mind and body. you don't need a year to recoup and get going again.
  - xhedley 11y ago
    Agree how helpful a total break for a week can be. I've always found it odd that the USA only gives two weeks annual holiday (plus public holidays). Someone finding a new job just to get a week off seems really inefficient - it probably takes months for their replacement to be hired an up to speed. Easier to give the current employee time off. Although all my permanent jobs have been in the UK with four or five weeks annual leave plus bank holidays.
    - soufron 11y ago
      I live in France, I have a one-month total break twice a year.
- marvin 11y ago
  Sounds like this guy lives in Norway, which means the state will pay his wife's cost of living if she's disabled. Assuming they don't live an extravagant lifestyle, financially speaking.
  - brianwawok 11y ago
    Is that enough to live off of? I know disability in the US tends to be in the range of 1k a month... depending on spending levels it may not be sustainable.
rpgmaker 11y ago
> Wow... Seems to me that the guy is far from being over with his burnout. He's still obsessed about work, numbers... and went from reading "non-technical" books to "self-help" books aka psychology technical books. This is a very ungenerous interpretation of the article. Did you read it or just skimmed it? It's very clear that he is in a far better place now. The books he mentions are just a few that he found useful along the way, nothing wrong about that.

by soufron 11y ago

brianwawok 11y ago

If you are the sole provider for a family, as seems to be the case here, you can't just take a year or two break. Sad maybe, but someone has to pay the rent and buy food.

soufron 11y ago
Well, when you're sick, you're sick. But maybe I am overestimating it. What I am sure of, it that you need a real time off, not working at all - a few months at least. And it's not about "feeling better", it's about curing your disease.
- bcook 11y ago
  When the majority of my country's citizens are sick (aka "unable to work"), virtually all of their financial benefits disappear (even in my great country, the USA) because they have no universal health-care and non-wealthy parents.
  - soufron 11y ago
    Wow, where do you live?
    - chris_wot 11y ago
      Seems to be a U.S. thing. Seriously, it's totally weird how this works...
  - actcutemonster 11y ago
    This isn't unique to the US. Very few countries allows you to have the government pay your bills. Even known "welfare" countries aren't even going to put up with that without requiring you to cut substantial costs. So if you got kids, mortgage, partner you're pretty much stuck for.
evook 11y ago
If he has an insurance and is officially ill he could sign up for pay compensation. The first year he would receive 100% of his gross and 70% after the first.
- brianwawok 11y ago
  So long term disability? I think his health benefits would get cut during this time. And can you really get 2 years off work for being burned out? I have no idea, but my understanding is you need some serious doctor notes to get classified as disabled.
  - evook 11y ago
    Unable to work doesn't mean you're disabled in Germany. Of course it takes 2 to 3 appointments at the doctor to get the insurance prescription, but I don't know any case where that was a problem at all.
  - runarb 11y ago
    If he lives in Norway, as indicated in the blogpost, his doctor can give him sick leave for up to 1 year. The state will compensate his salary 100%. If one is still sick after 1 year one can apply for permanent disability. Permanent disability will probably be around 66% of one’s previous salary, but no less then 25 000$ per year and no more then 65 000$ per year. One can additional apply for some special benefits like housing subsidy, child benefits etc if needed.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
at-fates-hands 11y ago
While this is true, a change of scenery can always be a way to take a few days off and recharge your batteries. Most of the time when I realized I was hurtling towards a burnout, I would simply start interviewing, and once I landed a new gig, made it mandatory to have at least a week buffer between the end of one gig and the start of the other. The important thing here is I didn't do ANYTHING AT ALL that week. Sure, I cleaned the house, went biking, and generally stopped to smell the roses, but I made sure not to write a line of code, look at code or even think about code that whole week. When you're burned out, your body and mind shut down. Being able to re-engage your brain and body properly and give them the break they deserve does wonders. Even having a week just to shutdown and restart over does amazing things for your mind and body. you don't need a year to recoup and get going again.
- xhedley 11y ago
  Agree how helpful a total break for a week can be. I've always found it odd that the USA only gives two weeks annual holiday (plus public holidays). Someone finding a new job just to get a week off seems really inefficient - it probably takes months for their replacement to be hired an up to speed. Easier to give the current employee time off. Although all my permanent jobs have been in the UK with four or five weeks annual leave plus bank holidays.
  - soufron 11y ago
    I live in France, I have a one-month total break twice a year.
marvin 11y ago
Sounds like this guy lives in Norway, which means the state will pay his wife's cost of living if she's disabled. Assuming they don't live an extravagant lifestyle, financially speaking.
- brianwawok 11y ago
  Is that enough to live off of? I know disability in the US tends to be in the range of 1k a month... depending on spending levels it may not be sustainable.

rpgmaker 11y ago

> Wow... Seems to me that the guy is far from being over with his burnout. He's still obsessed about work, numbers... and went from reading "non-technical" books to "self-help" books aka psychology technical books. This is a very ungenerous interpretation of the article. Did you read it or just skimmed it? It's very clear that he is in a far better place now. The books he mentions are just a few that he found useful along the way, nothing wrong about that.