Burnout - This is definitely NOT fine

I have been in the tech world for about 10 years, with the opportunity to share work and academic spaces with people from all over the world, of all cultures, ages and backgrounds.

I have always been fortunate to work in what I love, however, like all of them, I have experienced burnout at some point.

At the beginning I felt really good because I was doing my job very well, and I was positioned as an outstanding member of the team, but then with so many responsibilities I could no longer have a good work-life balance. This affected my emotional and physical health because I didn't sleep nor eat healthy.

I did not take the time to analyze what was happening so I kept working hard, not so much for pleasure but because it was my routine and I did not know how to get out of it.

This process took almost 8 months, in the middle of the pandemic, I would lie if I say that I realized I was suffering a burnout. I thought I was overwhelmed by work, academic and personal tasks, and that with time everything would get better, but the only thing I managed to do was to keep stressing myself out.

Finally, a wonderful option came into my life and I started a new remote job, to face new challenges obviously in the tech world and learn to work differently keeping my work-life balance.

Just when I was out of the routine, I realized my symptoms:

• Lack of motivation

• High levels of stress

• Sleep disorders due to being preoccupied with work

• Physical exhaustion

• Emotional exhaustion

And found that this was called burnout

Burnout: Syndrome marked by a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress

Now, imagine that you or someone in your team is already experiencing burnout, let's see what we can do from different roles

What can you do for yourself?

• Define priorities with your manager or teammates as needed

• Define a schedule to follow

• Learn how to say No

• Don’t be afraid of asking for help

• Too much of anything is bad

• You don't need to be a superhero to be valuable

  Companies don't need superheroes, they need capable and healthy people to do the job as well as possible with the resources available

• Understood what “go the extra mile” really means:

  Go the extra mile does not mean you should be working 12 hours a day, nor does it mean do it all yourself. Go the extra mile is using the working time as best possible, do you job in an effective way, and achieving realistic goals

• Expand your interests, find new hobbies, have some family time

What can you do as a teammate?

• Be accountable

• Do your job as the best as possible and don’t overload your teammates with your responsibilities

• Encourage your teammate to put themself first

• Ask how can you help

• Talk openly about burnout:

  Listen to make them feel validated, important, and not isolated. Also, be patient and don’t judge

What can you do as a manager?

• Set up realistic SMART goals, and don’t forget to make sure everyone understands why are those goals important for the team, the company, and the customers

• Make sure that everyone in your team has a pair to balance the loads:

  This might help with the workload distributions and also allow your direct reports to have real-time off, attend to personal issues and sick leave without affecting the team's performance.

• First idea is not always possible because of limited resources, then prioritize tasks and/or move deadlines

• Have a clear definition of what is urgent vs what is important:

  Sometimes we invest a lot of effort in things that seem urgent but are not important. Having clear priorities will allow the team to focus its efforts on what really matters.

• Listen without judgment

• Let them know that you are a support for them

• Encourage your team to take regular breaks

• Talk open about burnout and don’t consider it as a personal failing

• Celebrate accomplishments

As a final comment, I would like to point out that sometimes it is difficult for us to realize or simply accept that we are experiencing burnout, so it is important to be informed and know that it exists. Also if you think someone you know is experiencing this, reach out and take it slow, start the conversation, and listen.

Remember: Don't get burned!