Burnout in the Tech Industry: How Organisations, Teams and Individuals can Manage it
We need to talk about burnout in tech. Why? Because if you are working in tech, your burnout risk currently stands at 70%. That’s just too high.
People in tech are stressed. For many reasons. In 2022, 25% of employees found it difficult to unplug from work. The situation is so dire, that even after taking holidays, tech professionals still feel stressed just thinking of the workload they have to deal with when they come back to work. On top of that the current wave of mass layoffs is adding to already high stress levels and is impacting people’s mental health.
But when does stress turn into burnout? When do you know if you are on the way to being burnt out? And as a leader in tech, when do you know if your team is burnt out?
In this article I take a deep dive on:
Burnout in the tech industry: a global and local trend
4 signs your employees are getting burnt out
Why do your teams feel burnt out? 7 reasons why
Pressure – what’s healthy, and what’s bad
A lot of people thrive on pressure. Having a moderately high amount of pressure helps keep you focused on work and determined to finish your tasks or projects. But when pressure at work remains high, and comes from all sides – the organisation, the boss, colleagues, customers and external stakeholders, then people are at risk for getting burnt out. The general rule of thumb is that high pressure can be sustained for about a week or two before you enter the strain zone. In short: a burst of pressure to get that project over the finish line or close out the quarter is ok. But it is essential for your mental health that you find time to relax and unwind after intense periods of stress.
Stress and performance curve: when stress turns into burnout
Burnout in the Tech Industry – it’s local, it’s global and it’s happening too often
So how bad is it really with burnout in tech? A recent report from 2022, looked across 70,000 knowledge workers globally and found a shocking 70% have experienced burnout symptoms in the past 12 months. Burnout is a major problem here in Ireland, where I’m based. Sadly, Ireland is one of the worst in Europe for burnout, with three out of 10 employees sharing that they are burnt out “very often”. In the UK, 46% of workers feel that they’re close to feeling burnt out.
And it’s not just the people on the ground who are at risk. Startup founder Joel Gascoigne of software application company Buffer shared that he felt empty and demotivated after experiencing burnout.
So how do you know if your teams are burnt out?
“70% of people in tech experienced burnout symptoms in the past 12 months. It’s a systemic issue. It needs to be addressed from the top.”
4 Signs Tech Teams are Getting Burnt Out
Are you burnt out? Are members on your team burnt out? There are a few telltale signs you need to watch out for.
You have more complainers on the team.
In every job, a person has responsibilities, and they need to perform tasks and processes to fulfil those responsibilities. If you find team members complaining about processes, not focusing on the bigger picture, and eventually seeing their performance diminish, then that’s a sign they’re overwhelmed by the workload.
Another sign is a change of behaviour.
How does your team normally behave at work? They may usually be jolly and positive, or relaxed in the face of challenging tasks. But if you notice them feel glum and tired lately, or frenetic about everything, then they may be burnt out. Lacking sleep, missing deadlines, miscommunicating or communicating less cordially with colleagues are other ways of them showing you that they are burning out.
Your team’s morale is low.
People struggling with burnout often feel anxious and tired. As a result they’re demotivated to work as much as they did before. When one employee’s performance dips, so does the team’s. If employees’ performance is affected on a large-scale, then the company’s performance also falls.
They’re apathetic and cynical.
Your team members and colleagues seem to no longer care for their work, or even the industry they are in. Jake Walters, an established systems administrator shared in this article that he dreaded going to work, and lacked interest in anything that had to do with his job and tech. “In my early days as a sysadmin, I dove headfirst into new tech, read docs for things I was interested in and set up my own home lab to try out new products. All of that went away. I got rid of my home lab and my home network turned into nothing but a cable modem and router.”
If any of these signs sound familiar, then yes, you or your colleagues are burnt out. For the people-first leaders or managers, HR professionals or L&D specialists reading this: you are capable of addressing these issues and managing burnout.
Why do your tech teams feel burnt out?
The reasons for the high burnout risk for tech teams are a combination of hustle culture with excessive workloads and performance pressure, micromanagement and poor leadership in general, and people feeling stuck.
Let’s unpack how that leads to increased burnout risk for tech workers:
7 reasons why your team is burnt out
Tech has created a hustle culture at the expense of mental health.
In recent years, I’ve seen many leaders glorify the idea of grit, overperforming and hitting extreme stretch goals. Promoting resilience is a good thing. On the other hand, applauding overwork, isn’t. Encouraging people to work nonstop, or “hustle” has led to a lack of balance in their work and personal lives. A 2021 study by The ADP Research Institute found that employees in 17 countries are logging on between nine to 20 unpaid hours – a lot more than the reported 7.5 hours in 2020.
They have heavy workloads.
Part of this hustle culture is getting people to work more than they can. I work with people daily who get burnt out because of unrealistic workloads and targets. In 2019, ACAS UK reported that 60% of professionals in the UK attribute stress to heavy workload. What people in tech need is realistic workloads, more flexibilioty and clarity on how their tasks should be done. Adeva, a global talent network for the tech industry, reports that people take on more sick days than usual just to get away from the overwhelming amount of work they have.
They have overachieving personalities.
The tech industry attracts a lot of smart people with overachieving personalities, as I mentioned in my article on imposter feelings. Robert Arkin, a professor of Psychology at the Ohio State University, says that overachievers like working long hours, are sensitive to criticism, and prone to anxiety. A combination of all these makes someone susceptible to getting burnt out.
They are pressured to perform.
Tech is a competitive industry. Here’s what I observed: people perceive that their colleagues are giving 150% at work, so they pressure themselves to match that behaviour. Performance culture is so strong that it has become the norm to work when you are sick. Last year, 81% of remote work employees worked even when they felt ill. 65% of onsite employees also logged into work despite feeling under the weather.
They are being micromanaged.
Working under a micromanager also explains why employees feeling exhausted and demotivated at work. The micromanagers in your organisation may have the best of intentions and think that by constantly challenging their employees, they’ll get better and thrive. Unfortunately, it does the opposite. Almost 80% of employees share that they’ve been micromanaged and 70% say that it has interfered with their jobs. Micromanagement also takes a toll on their health.
They are led poorly.
22% of tech professionals shared that being led poorly left them feeling burnt out. According to the Handbook of Work Stress, poor leadership is marked either by abuse or passiveness. Micromanagement is another type of poor leadership. Either way, it leaves employees feeling helpless, stressed and less committed to work.
They feel stuck.
You’re a nice boss and you get along with your team. Still, people are quitting left, right and centre on your team. What's happening? People are feeling stagnant. 40% of dissatisfied employees left because their careers weren’t growing in the companies they worked for.
Burnout is bad for your employees – and your business.
Burnout takes a toll on employees’ health.
Burnout affects both mental health and physical health. Insomnia, high blood pressure, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes are just some of the physical consequences of burnout. It also tires people out mentally, leaving them unhappy, irritable and more likely to abuse alcohol or substances.
It also takes a toll on the business.
Burnout is the main reason for high absenteeism in an organisation, which affects productivity. In 2022, 79% of HR managers admit that there were stress-related absences within their organisations. Even worse is attrition. If people leave in droves (see: the Great Resignation) because they feel stressed out and undervalued, then it will cost your company.
Managing Burnout
From an Organisational Level and as a Team
Managing your employees’ high stress levels is key to preventing burnout. While 70% of HR managers say employee wellbeing is high on their agenda, that intention often doesn’t translate into actionable strategies and prevention measures - yet. Organisations need to manage their leadership, re-evaluate their values, goals, priorities and culture, and operations to prevent people from getting overworked, stressed, tired, and leaving. That seems a lot, but with proper leadership training, it can be done.
I facilitate organisations and teams every month, primarily to build people’s strengths, mental fitness and relationships with each other. My training and development programmes teach your teams how to effectively deal with stress, but equally empowers your leaders to engineer a work climate that puts wellbeing and mental fitness first.
“I have experienced burnout in the past and it was important for me to develop strategies to find a sustainable balance between work and other life domains. The strategies I learned are not about a one-time fix, it’s more an ongoing process, a way of being, that protects my wellbeing. Others pick up on that change too, I sprinkle more positive vibes around the team.”
From an Individual Level
You can also do something to build your personal resilience against burnout. I have also helped countless individuals in the tech industry seeking to manage burnout and achieve better work-life balance. Through my lived experience of working in tech, coupled with my professional psychological training, I support people in tech at all stages of their career to proactively manage and prevent burnout.
Burnout is a serious matter so it’s best to address it early or even before it happens.
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