5 ms·
For me, burn out was not a consequence of the demands of the job, but a belief that nothing I did could possibly have any impact, that nothing I said would ever
by yarg 7y ago
For me, burn out was not a consequence of the demands of the job, but a belief that nothing I did could possibly have any impact, that nothing I said would ever be listened to, that every moment I spent in that fucking place was an absolute waste of time.
This wasn't how it started, I took a vital yet buggy and unmaintainable piece of software and got it to a point where new features could be cleanly added and new bugs were a very rare event.
And yet, every time I tried to make any significant change - generally intended to further improve the maintainability of the project - I got shat on by an architect who otherwise had nothing to do with the project and a boss who never listened to any one else.
- durnygbur 7y ago> I got shat on by an architect who otherwise had nothing to do with the project and a boss who never listened to any one else. Sole aim of some people is just to have power over others, force subordinates to commit their mistakes, and to replace subordinates with others who are increasingly zealot, obedient, and desperate. I have no idea how to defend myself in such situations, usually I just quit. "Professional managers" (persons being managers and leads from the beginning of their career), and overeducated people joining the workforce late in their lives and straight from or shortly after the academia are the two profiles from whom I observed such behaviour.
- Aromasin 7y agoHonestly, as silly as the book and most of the philosophy behind it is in my eyes, "The 48 Laws of Power" by Robert Greene can be quite helpful in playing the game with overtly controlling people. Often the correct path is just to quit though. Provided you're a skilled professional you'll likely be finding a job in what is a buyers market, so there's little to lose in leaving and a lot to lose (sanity included) in staying.
- xiaolingxiao 7y agoin your opinion why do people joining workforce late in their career from academia behave this way?
- celticmusic 7y agoI would imagine it's a combination of the natural power dynamics of school, and a need to be the smartest person in the room.
- sixdimensional 7y agoThe Peter Principle is also a favorite book related.
- etripe 7y agoI would add one category: pump and dump freelancers. The type that never have to live with the consequences of what they implement or develop. This correlates closely with CV-driven development. In order to sniff these people out, all you need is a five-minute conversation where you challenge them on something innocuous. You'll find they have no arguments, overuse authority arguments and blindly follow the gospel of well-known programming books. Once at that point, quietly extricate yourself from the conversation and start sending out CVs. These kind of people will fuck your shit up if you let them or can't find a way to limit your interaction with them.
- brianmcc 7y agoSounds a rotten situation, hope things are better for you now. Your example highlights how toxic the softer/environmental aspects can be, not just challenging technical factors. Personally I find I am happy to deal with technical challenges - that's what the job is about, IMO - but political and otherwise artificial challenges are a massive turnoff which I look to either get removed or extricate myself from one way or another. Looking out for the latter and dealing with it somehow before it escalates/accumulates is a great way to avoid getting stuck in a position where burnout can develop.
- yarg 7y agoI spent too long believing that technical competency would breed trust in my ability to produce and execute a sound road-map. I left too late, having lost a lot of the joy that I previously took from software development.
- terminalhealth 7y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boreout https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boreout