Burnout

[Lemur]

@Shemp

Very nice. The definition of networth in 'run-away' mode. You really lucked out being in software development in the late 90s though right? That was pretty much the software gold-rush...

I guess the modern day version of what you accomplished is being a silicon valley tech start-up.

[shemp]

PC software has been an easy way to start a home business since the early 1980's. Mainframe and mini computer software always took big upfront investment, but PC plus programming software could be bought for like $5000 back in 1980, which is like $15000 on today's dollars. Nowadays, used PCs are almost free, which is a mixed blessing: reduces your investment, in case you are just starting out and poor, but also increases competition you face.

Personally, I think the real gold rush was early 1980's. Easy then to write the first program to automate dentists offices, veterinarian offices, bookstores, etc, etc. First mover makes it easy to make a fortune. Programs then sold for like $495 ($1500 in today's dollars), of which 70% could be profit. Multiply by 1000 customers and you're lean FIRE. 5000 customers and you're very fat FIRE.

Only thing special about late 1990's that really benefited me was that businesses were loose with money then. They tighter after 2001, then loose again towards 2007, then very tight during the 2008 crash and for a few years after, then loose again, now we are in another tight period where they try to cut costs and avoid buying anything. But if your program is desperately needed or saves big money, it will sell even in the worst of times.

Late 1990's was famous as dotcom era, but that was more marketing of websites than actual software that did things. Really innovative PC software like word processors, spreadsheets, CAD and other graphics programs, etc were developed earlier. Other than web browsers and Java/JavaScript, I can't think of any important real software associated with dotcom mania.

Modern day equivalent is apps for smartphones, but now you need massive volume because of low prices, and competition is ferocious. If I were starting out, I would go into robotics: software to control machines that automate tasks that are dangerous or difficult or expensive if humans do them. For example, underground mining machines, fruit picking machines, meat packing plant machines, military sentry duty or sniper machines, etc.

[suomalainen]

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/0 ... ition-scam

The gist:

[ I worked hard at my job but] Then I saw a meme [that said] 'if you died tomorrow, your job would be posted faster than your obituary,' and it sucked all the joy out of everything I did.

This is why burnout hits when work fails to live up to our expectations of it. Many of us were raised on the mantra: “It’s not work if you love what you do,” and so we want to believe that our jobs can not only provide financial stability, but also emotional and spiritual nourishment. Not all work is a calling, but the journey toward finding the right job can be likened to a pilgrimage. In a time of increasing secularism, work remains our steadfast religion.

And yet, in the depths of disillusionment and burnout, there can also sometimes be a strange sense of freedom in recognizing that work might never provide the purpose and emotional sustenance you once believed it would. And that's okay. You'll survive. Collectively, we will simply need to come up with a new way of thinking about work. It turns out, work — like any relationship — isn't the be-all, end-all we’d thought it could be.

There's no real solutions offered other than to put work in the proper perspective or of the "take a break", "set boundaries", etc. variety. Of interest to me was the conversation in 2B1S' journal about this and the broadening of the idea to post-work as well:

PS: The same thing can happen with being FIRE'd. Fortunately it hasn't happened to me. But one's post-work perspective and plans definitely need to expand beyond "traveling" because very few retirees manage to find that meaningfully fulfilling for more than a few years.
PPS: Also see the large number of freedom-from/to (positive/negative freedom) discussions. Is what you're retiring-to sustainable?

[Lemur]

@suomalainen
Interesting article.

Wishful thinking here...

Instead of encouraging vacations, discrete periods of rest, it’s time to enact labor protections that guarantee higher wages, that end at-will employment, that boost unemployment benefits permanently, that disentangle healthcare access from employment status. In other words, creating a world where workers who aren't being treated well, who aren't satisfied with their jobs, can simply quit without a backwards glance. Until that happens, burnout will continue to be endemic in our society, and individuals will continue to find their own solutions for how to cope.

So these aren't happening anytime soon. So I'm curious is if there is any good medical / science research on how exactly to deal with burnout? Or prevent it. Especially if your job requires your time 40+ hours a week. So far I've only seen anecdotal experience...

For me, if it wasn't for actively resisting my employer- I would be major burned out right now...but ironically enough the resisting itself lowers my stamina bar.

But here are some things that personally have helped me.

1.) My laptop gets shutoff at 5-5:30pm regardless of workload. Sometimes there is great temptation to keep working to have some things out of your way but...usually by this time one is mentally burned out and doing a bunch of half-assed work anyway. Mental acuity is off anyway. Especially for jobs that require mental creativity like programming
2.) I make it a point to never log in on weekends ever. Okay well I've failed here and there but only if mission critical (real chance of me getting fired).
3.) Reducing expectations / accepting you won't make everyone happy. I do my client work and that is it - no business initiatives that my managers have asked me to contribute to to support the firm. My managers have made it clear while I'm getting good performance reviews - I won't get promoted either for this stance. At some point I got tired of dancing around the subject so I became explicit that I'm not aiming for promotion anymore. This felt weird. Who does that lol? But I'm glad I did that. I rarely get asked anymore about "opportunities."
4.) Engaged in during the week hobbies - walk everyday at lunch, tennis after work sometimes, reading a fiction book. I think part of the crux of burnout is having your job "on you mind 24/7" which is my personal crux...Whatever helps occupy your brain-space is better than having your job in your brain-space.
5.) Another thing that helped was having a journal near my laptop and just writing out my to-dos or ideas to explore for tomorrow. Just so I can get it written down and out of my mind.

[Mister Imperceptible]

So these aren't happening anytime soon. So I'm curious is if there is any good medical / science research on how exactly to deal with burnout? Or prevent it. Especially if your job requires your time 40+ hours a week. So far I've only seen anecdotal experience...

Develop investosis and a multi millionaire dollar portfolio so as to become part of the shareholder class giving other people burnout.

[jacob]

So these aren't happening anytime soon. So I'm curious is if there is any good medical / science research on how exactly to deal with burnout? Or prevent it. Especially if your job requires your time 40+ hours a week. So far I've only seen anecdotal experience...

There is but not much in those [burnout] terms. However, stress associated with the modern lifestyle of "be the best you can be" or "buy the best you can buy" hits maximizers harder than satisficers. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice ... unfortunately the gold standard of western adult development is to become a maximizer. See http://www.cook-greuter.com/Cook-Greute ... 5B1%5D.pdf under conformist/conscientious/expert/achiever.

In Gervais terms, the stress hits the clueless. The sociopaths push it onto others. The losers avoid it.

[WFJ]

Burnout is also sometimes "planned" in some job functions. Disneyland was know for usually not rehiring staff after one summer as dressing up as Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck for the summer in the OC heat might seem fun the first year, but gets kind of old quickly.

One of my jobs was in a field that counted on about a 10% per month turnover. Some in the field would only work 6 months a year as their total pay was not significantly different when working a full 12 months as almost everyone experienced burnout. If you are in one of these fields, then fighting the inevitable will just waste energy.