Burnout is often seen as an accompanying shadow to long working hours. However, as my career in tech leadership matured, so did my understanding of what causes burnout. While managing things like work/life balance may be helpful for some, it didn’t feel applicable to me.
Early in my tech leadership journey, many of my weeks were spent working well beyond the typical 40 hour week. Some weeks were harder than others, yet burnout often seemed like an alien concept. Most days’ efforts bore visible fruits, so any feelings of frustration were short-lived.
The script flipped for me as I transitioned into projects that required working through a lot of bureaucratic red tape. The hours on the clock remained constant, yet the essence of labor and its ensuing satisfaction dwindled. It wasn’t about the hours but the lack of progress and control over a long period of time that began seeding the feelings of burnout within.
There’s an abundance of generic advice floating around, preaching the gospel of setting realistic goals, fostering a positive work environment, and ensuring work flexibility to evade the burnout bullet. However, these broad-brush solutions, though useful, felt detached from my lived experience. They were surface-level remedies that failed to address the deeper source of the pain.
In contrast, I found a lot of value in honest introspection. The common solutions were akin to treating the symptoms, whereas introspection allowed for a deeper examination of the underlying causes. It wasn’t about how many hours were clocked in, but how those hours resonated with my sense of progress, control, and the intrinsic value derived from the work.
Through introspection, I was able to open myself up to new ways of thinking and approaches. Armed with this personal growth, I was able to break the cycle of frustration that was causing the burnout. I started making more progress and became more energized.
Countering burnout demands a shift from generic advice to a more personalized, introspective exploration. Everyone’s experience with burnout is unique to them. It’s not about merely managing our time or balancing work and life, but about comprehending the intrinsic value and satisfaction derived from our labor. Through honest introspection and personal growth, we can move beyond the basic burnout advice, uncovering the real culprits and paving the way for a more fulfilling work experience.