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Occupational burnout is a well-known problem within the computer programming industry. While many programmers have experienced it themselves, or at least witnessed it happen to others, few have experienced it as intensely as reddit user Max-P has.
In a comment at reddit, Max-P wrote:
A little over a month ago, only 3 years into the project, I blew up. One day I woke up, sat in front of my computer and broke up in tears. Called the boss to tell him I couldn't work for a few days. To this day I still can't code. I'm not even sure I will ever be able to code again either. For now I'm looking at applying for Walmart for an undetermined amount of time.
Let his tale be one of caution; let it be a lesson to learn from!
Original Submission
NC added: /r/technology at reddit briefly went private. I'm copying the original post here as as an extended message in case it goes down again.
Another part of the problem is that people frequently deliver on unrealistic expectations at the expense of their own health, sanity, and social lives. This reinforces the mindset that sets these expectations in the first place, and sends the message that anyone who objected to the deadlines was just whining.
So. Much. That. I'm currently in a state where I litterally just can't write code. At all. I get dizzy, headaches, I've even cried a few times just at the sight of my text editor. And it's all my fault, because I've set myself the requirements way too high. Producing quality code at a very high speed was my pride. I started working on a project I had a lot of motivation in, and it was a rewrite of an old software. So I knew the requirements, what didn't work and what did. It worked very well, we had a whole webapp ready for beta in 3-4 months, and my boss already had started to sell it. Clients were happy. Even if it wasn't the best code at all, it was pretty solid compared to the old spaguetti we had. I was happy, because the other developers said it was impossible to rewrite the whole thing in any reasonable time to be worth the money. I totally won my bet, delivering new features almost weekly. There was only one problem. I had set absolutely insane expectations, at a ridiculous price while at it because I was 18 and was barely out of school, so it was a great opportunity for me. Developement speed slowed down considerably. Projects piled up, but it was fine, I didn't have much pressure anyway, just a pile of work for the next 5 years. Eventually I requested to have a second developer to help me: but of course, at both that price tag and the requirements, they all got fired right away because management felt it was ripped off. Which at the time didn't realize and agreed with: they indeed seemed slow to me, and the code quality was terrible. I ended up being the sysadmin of two servers and several VMs, the network between them, manage all the monitoring/configuration/backups, work on two webapps (both desktop and mobile) + their backend + the matching mobile apps. I also had to QA the whole thing myself because the boss would only test once it was pushed to production to ensure there were no bugs at this point (despite me setting up several staging areas specifically for that, with a fresh copy of the live data). All in all, that's over a dozen programming languages and 3 different databases. I also did tech support once in a while (and add specific workarounds to bypass work proxies for some of our clients, because our app had to work everywhere according to management). And I was the only one that could understand and manage all of that. We didn't have any backup resources in case I wasn't reachable. A little over a month ago, only 3 years into the project, I blew up. One day I woke up, sat in front of my computer and broke up in tears. Called the boss to tell him I couldn't work for a few days. To this day I still can't code. I'm not even sure I will ever be able to code again either. For now I'm looking at applying for Walmart for an undetermined amount of time. Burnout is serious matter.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by hopp on Friday July 03 2015, @06:16AM
Take a day and do what you want or nothing at all. Working 7 days a week? Call in sick once in a while.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 03 2015, @07:01AM
Then get dropped by the company for being a slacker. Then you find out the agency that places you as a contractor will no longer represent you. Then you find out other contract agencies put your resume on the back burner.
Either you work till you burn out or you get dropped from the industry and have to do something else. Either way, you're screwed.
There is one alternative - move to another city where the agency reps haven't heard about you. Shame about your spouse and kids getting uprooted every several years.
And another alternative - get a job as a permanent employee instead of a contractor and take a cut in income and sit in the corner doing some boring job for years (COBOL, maybe).
Years ago, I read that the average burnout period in IT was 7 years. I lasted three times that long before storming out of a meeting with a client who thought that a web site shouldn't take more than 8 hours to develop (my schedule estimate was 6 months). That was the last straw. I now live on 1/3 the income I used to make and my ex calls once in a while to say hi. What a great career awaits the modern IT pro.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by TheRaven on Friday July 03 2015, @11:23AM
If a company will fire productive people for not working stupid hours, then it's probably not a good place to work. Studies have shown that productivity peaks for non-menial tasks at around 20 hours a week, plateaus up to a little over 40, and then declines. From 20-40 you're less productive per hour, but the increase in time compensates. Above about 40, you start to make mistakes that take longer to fix than the extra time, so you're more productive just having a nap under your desk.
If you're a contractor, try to work remotely and aim for a 4 hour working day - people will be amazed at how productive you are.
sudo mod me up
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Friday July 03 2015, @12:16PM
I'm not a developer. I am also not management (also too much stress for too little reward)
I have seen misery, though..
Most companies with large developer pools use contractors, and don't care if they burn out. Seven day weeks, 14 to 18 hour days? Normal. Take a weekend off after four months without a break? Get asked by management if your are really commited to the project.
Sure, not a good place to work, but when they are all like that, your only choice is.. a different career, maybe?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 03 2015, @12:35PM
That is the problem for contractors - they are all lousy places to work. Corporations have no incentive to make it a good place to work. They figure if you're payed big bucks, you take all the shit they can throw at you.
BTW - I once calculated the dollar value of all the projects I've worked on that were cancelled. It came out to $250,000,000.00. No, that's not an exaggeration. One was $100 million and another $80 million. The others were in the tens of millions each. Try to feel good about a career with that little to show for it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 03 2015, @03:10PM
You think there's a choice? Wage theft and worker exploitation is endemic to corporate America. Your choices are to either deal with it or be hungry on the streets.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by TypnoHoad on Friday July 03 2015, @09:52AM
If you have a breakdown it can take years to get back to equilibrium that's if you can ever get back.. I know this from both first and secondhand experience.
if you think you are near the cliff now - row back immediately. Trust me the road back from a breakdown is a lot harder than any short-term career "setbacks" you might suffer from returning your work-life balance to something that works for you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 03 2015, @03:15PM
The really fun part about breaking down is being told that its all your fault, that you broke down because you have a weak will and moral failings, and if only you had better work ethic and stronger morals and weren't such a pussy you could deal with it. After all, all you need to do is put your back into it and pull yourself up by your bootstraps!
(Score: 2) by iamjacksusername on Friday July 03 2015, @01:30PM
Great advice but, in my experience, most people seem to need to learn that the hard way. I know I went through that phase. I re-phrase it sometimes- "You cannot keep working like you are 22 with no responsibilities for the next 40 years. Take a minute. Nobody ever went to their death bed wishing they had gone into work more."