Burnout takes different forms and people create different methods for coping. Twenty five years ago I began working on a large project that had no chance of su

Burnout takes different forms and people create different methods for coping. Twenty five years ago I began working on a large project that had no chance of success because of an impossible schedule. I was one of just a few senior people who had been asked to support it, while most of the team consisted of new-hires. (The reason for this was the classic "they won't know that it's impossible, so maybe they can do it" strategy.) After about a year and with some success, things began to go wrong. In order to get things done faster, the team had neglected documentation on the first build (of 13). So even though the first build was mostly on time, the whole team was so burned out that most of them had left. (Attrition was over 60% and many engineers became so disillusioned with their career choice that they switched to something else.) The new team was left with no documentation and no experience, but the impossible schedule remained. Management began having daily morning meetings (two hours) as part of our 12 hour day. Every morning we would re-plan the schedule and every day it would slip. After working in this environment for almost two years, I moved on. Before I worked on this project I had a strong commitment to schedule and I would do whatever it took to make sure things were on time. After working this project I found that I never took any schedule seriously. I would do what I could to get things done, but I wouldn't work excessive hours or stress myself about being late. This coping mechanism has (mostly) helped me both in work and in life, but some program managers have viewed my attitude as insubordinate. https://boeing.mediaroom.com/2001-06-29-Boeing-Built-ICO-Satellite-Successfully-Launched https://boeing.mediaroom.com/2001-06-29-Boeing-Built-ICO-Sat... https://casetext.com/case/boeing-satellite-sys-intl-inc-v-ico-global-commcns-operations-ltd https://casetext.com/case/boeing-satellite-sys-intl-inc-v-ic...