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I think it's possible to burn out working on things you think are important but that are chronically underfunded or ignored. For example, I can imagine working

I think it's possible to burn out working on things you think are important but that are chronically underfunded or ignored. For example, I can imagine working on cleantech or green NGOs only to be consistently frustrated that people don't want to pay for better recycling and cleaner energy, or want to reduce their water usage.

jamil7 7y ago
I've worked on and around volunteer and open source projects for social and environmental causes and burn out is an issue there too. Often for some of the reasons you mention, other factors are also lack of resources and an inhibility to come to quick decisions and move a project forward, it can feel like you're going nowhere and having the same conversations over and over.
dnate 7y ago
Also, that theory does not work with the fact, that a lot of burnout victims are social workers.
- adrianmonk 7y ago
  Exactly. Burnout can happen because you have a cynical malaise about your mission. But it can also happen because you are so passionate about your mission that where a normal person would understand reasonable boundaries between work and life, you can't resist the temptation to push right past them. (Which violates the principle of taking care of yourself first, so that you can take care of others.) Sorry to bring up religion in polite conversation, but an interesting theory I've heard about church pastors is that sometimes they have extramarital affairs (partly) for an unusual reason. They feel called to do their type of work, but it's all-consuming, so they end up feeling conflicted. Part of them wants to quit, but another part cannot justify it. So instead of quitting, they do something which might or might not get them fired. It's a moral failing, but less of a moral failing than abandoning your mission. (Ultimately, it's just a way to not take responsibility for your choices, but that's human beings for you.)
  - brailsafe 7y ago
    I feel like the cynical malaise is maybe more healthy to go in with, and also what your impression of everything turns into after getting burned out because you went in with a ton of personal investment (passion or whatever)
Gibbon1 7y ago
Reminds me a friend quit tech went to work for the state doing utility grade solar permitting. About 80% of the work he was doing for two years was just trying to nail down the proper process because people are going to sue. Including organizations you think of as allies, like the sierra club. And then the project he was working on was canceled. badup bumm.

jamil7 7y ago

I've worked on and around volunteer and open source projects for social and environmental causes and burn out is an issue there too. Often for some of the reasons you mention, other factors are also lack of resources and an inhibility to come to quick decisions and move a project forward, it can feel like you're going nowhere and having the same conversations over and over.

dnate 7y ago

Also, that theory does not work with the fact, that a lot of burnout victims are social workers.

adrianmonk 7y ago
Exactly. Burnout can happen because you have a cynical malaise about your mission. But it can also happen because you are so passionate about your mission that where a normal person would understand reasonable boundaries between work and life, you can't resist the temptation to push right past them. (Which violates the principle of taking care of yourself first, so that you can take care of others.) Sorry to bring up religion in polite conversation, but an interesting theory I've heard about church pastors is that sometimes they have extramarital affairs (partly) for an unusual reason. They feel called to do their type of work, but it's all-consuming, so they end up feeling conflicted. Part of them wants to quit, but another part cannot justify it. So instead of quitting, they do something which might or might not get them fired. It's a moral failing, but less of a moral failing than abandoning your mission. (Ultimately, it's just a way to not take responsibility for your choices, but that's human beings for you.)
- brailsafe 7y ago
  I feel like the cynical malaise is maybe more healthy to go in with, and also what your impression of everything turns into after getting burned out because you went in with a ton of personal investment (passion or whatever)

Gibbon1 7y ago

Reminds me a friend quit tech went to work for the state doing utility grade solar permitting. About 80% of the work he was doing for two years was just trying to nail down the proper process because people are going to sue. Including organizations you think of as allies, like the sierra club. And then the project he was working on was canceled. badup bumm.