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I can resent the nannying of how much I should work to prevent my burnout. If I'm driven intrinsically by what I'm doing, leave me alone already. I'll naturall

I can resent the nannying of how much I should work to prevent my burnout. If I'm driven intrinsically by what I'm doing, leave me alone already. I'll naturally take breaks as my intrinsic motivation waxes and wanes. If I'm driven extrinsically to do something not fun, and I keep pushing on it, I'll burn out rather easily. In this case, tell me something is important/useful, but also let up to give me the encouragement to take breaks. All jobs have a mix of both. But my preferred job has more intrinsically motivating work. If I'm gate kept from it, its only annoying to me...

maccard 5y ago
You don't work in a bubble, and if you are a more senior person on a team the juniors will see what you're doing and follow by example. And when you're a junior, it's equally as important to be told by your superiors to stop, so that it's crystal clear that it's not expected or even encouraged.
- softwaredoug 5y ago
  Yes I get that. My annoyance isn’t the only factor in play. Though with remote work, employees with different time zones, and pandemic parenting, it’s hard to see someone working and say “oh they’re working too much”
  - maccard 5y ago
    Yeah agreed. I think the signals in that case are the same people doing things like showing they're taking a Thursday afternoon off to take their kid to football, or actually taking a lunch break. At a certain point we are all adults, and have to be trusted but setting a good example has always been a sign of a good manager in my experience
nicbou 5y ago
One caveat is that it sets expectations that my be hard to keep up with when your motivation wanes. People might see what workloads you handle, and think you'll consistently handle the same. Another caveat is that balance is good even if you're enjoying work. You still need to eat, exercise, socialise and whatnot.

maccard 5y ago

You don't work in a bubble, and if you are a more senior person on a team the juniors will see what you're doing and follow by example. And when you're a junior, it's equally as important to be told by your superiors to stop, so that it's crystal clear that it's not expected or even encouraged.

softwaredoug 5y ago
Yes I get that. My annoyance isn’t the only factor in play. Though with remote work, employees with different time zones, and pandemic parenting, it’s hard to see someone working and say “oh they’re working too much”
- maccard 5y ago
  Yeah agreed. I think the signals in that case are the same people doing things like showing they're taking a Thursday afternoon off to take their kid to football, or actually taking a lunch break. At a certain point we are all adults, and have to be trusted but setting a good example has always been a sign of a good manager in my experience

nicbou 5y ago

One caveat is that it sets expectations that my be hard to keep up with when your motivation wanes. People might see what workloads you handle, and think you'll consistently handle the same. Another caveat is that balance is good even if you're enjoying work. You still need to eat, exercise, socialise and whatnot.