Surviving Burnout (2015)
Here&#x27;s my advice based on my personal experience with burnout. It&#x27;s all easier said than done, I&#x27;m afraid.<p>1) People are part of the problem. You solve problems for customers with technical solutions, but your solutions should take into account people in the company. e.g. &quot;how do I solve problem X with a manager that won&#x27;t listen?&quot; Other people are not a mysterious outside factor, they are a piece of the puzzle that needs to be put together.<p>2) Ignore your reputation. Do not base your self-worth on the opinion of others. You want to do good work, of course, but often your idea of good work is not what is wanted by the company. They want features, not pretty code. They are often too short-sighted to see the problems they are creating for themselves with this attitude. You must come to accept this.<p>3) You don&#x27;t own your work. You must be mercenary. You are paid for your skills but the output is not yours. You will naturally have a sense of ownership over the the work you do. You will want to protect it because your sense of self-worth is linked to the quality of your work. Sever this link.<p>4) You don&#x27;t own the company&#x27;s problems. You must be mercenary. Companies are dysfunctional. They will be short-sighted. They will make mistakes you have seen a thousand times before and the end will be completely predictable. Give your advice, watch it get ignored, get paid, and move on.<p>5) Find something more important to care about than some stupid tech product. P.S. It&#x27;s not going to make the world a better place. Quite the opposite if you look at previous evidence.