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by sjogress 2396 days ago
A few questions:

* How is your sleep?

* Are you able to rest properly?

* Do you feel exhausted every evening after work?

* Are you arguing more with your SO/family/friends than you used to?

* Do you have enough motivation to plan things that aren't work-related, like trips, dinner parties, going out with friends?

The big problem with burnout is that your ability to recover and rest is severely hampered. If you are anything like me that lack of rest will make you have a very negative outlook on, well, everything.

If you are able to I'd take a long vacation, long enough that you are able to get some distance and perspective on the situation. Then I'd see if leaving the company is the right descision or what would be necessary to salvage the situation.

I've personally gone through burnout the past year, to the point where I was on sick leave for a few weeks. Those weeks were enough to give me some perspective. Quitting that job and taking a few additional months off was the only was to get through it, though truth be told I'm still suffering from some symptoms of burnout, like a lack of motivation.

1 comments

I've been doing software engineering for 10 years now. It's ruined my 14 year marriage. It ruined relationships with girlfriends. It's hurt my relationship with my children. It's hurt my relationships with even my dog. This may be one of the worst industries in existence. However, one thing that burnout taught me, I'll never drink some hipster's koolaid. If they have a great idea, I'll pursue it myself on my own. I program as a means to an end and I'm learning to leave it at work at the end of each day. People should never allow a company to churn and burn them out. I think a lot of developers are waking up to this millennial hipster nonsense created by Zuckerberg and the millions of losers who want to be just like that jerk. Programming should be a means to an end and nothing more.