4 Ways to Prevent Burnout in Tech

Are you feeling stressed today?

Worryingly, for many people the answer is yes.

Stress at work is common, but for some employees this has become the norm. Chronic stress can lead to burnout. In fact the World Health Organisation now recognizes burnout as ‘Chronic work-related stress’ that hasn’t been managed properly. (World Health Organisation ICD-11)

Organizations are facing an employee burnout crisis. A recent Gallup study of nearly 7,500 full-time employees found that 23% of employees reported feeling burned out at work very often or always, while an additional 44% reported feeling burned out sometimes. That means about two-thirds of full-time workers experience burnout on the job.

Burnout is especially common in the fast-paced, competitive environment of the tech industry. But how do we measure that and what can we do to prevent it?

In a 2018 survey hosted by community-workplace app Blind, nearly 60 percent of tech workers admitted to experiencing burnout.  That’s higher than doctors, at 44 percent. The tech app is widely used by Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Facebook, the tech giants, however it is also used by many smaller tech companies. The one-question survey had a simple yes/no answer: “Are you currently suffering from job burnout?” And over half of respondents (57.16%) answered yes.

A survey by Kronos found three top-cited factors for workplace burnout: unfair compensation (41%), an unreasonable workload (32%), and too much overtime work (32%). Other common factors included poor management, a negative workplace culture, and employees feeling disconnected from the company strategy in their roles.

Many of these factors are controllable if companies are honest and proactive. But we also need to look at ways to reduce stress ourselves.

Here are 4 ways you can help prevent burnout yourself

Set Boundaries around your own technology

You don’t need to be on your phone or laptop 24/7. Really you don’t.

Turn off all work-related technology two hours before going to bed, turn off your smart phone an hour before bed to give you that downtime we all need. Invest in an alarm clock so you don’t check your smart phone within 15 minutes of waking up

Take time off (I mean really take time off)

Take microbreaks every 90 minutes, get up from your desk, stretch, go for a walk. And use up those holiday days, they are there for a reason.

Do more of what you enjoy – it’s the antidote to burnout

What do you really love doing? Make sure you make time every week to do something that brings you joy and leaves you smiling. For me it’s getting out into nature and playing with my kids.

Be open with your manager when you feel stressed

Finally – and for some this can be a tough nut, but in most cases well worth the effort – talk to your manager about what is stressing you and identify where you can amend the workload to make it more easily achievable.

Wishing you good luck!

By Cara de Lange – Founder & CEO Softer Success

Cara is an international wellbeing mentor, coach, author and speaker. She runs workshops and talks focusing on relieving stress and changing people’s mindset to prevent burnout. Her company’s program ‘Prevent Burnout, Find Balance’ enables individual clients and corporate teams to create a more harmonious, peaceful and productive life.

Having experienced her own personal burnout Cara established Softer Success, dedicated to helping people slow down, tune in and develop wellbeing strategies. Cara is an associate of and works closely with the International Stress Management Association (ISMA). 

Her book ‘Softer Success’ – Prevent Burnout, Find Balance & Re-define Your Success is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

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