83% of Developers Suffer from Burnout, Haystack Analytics Study Finds
I&#x27;ve been programming for 53 years and have never been burnt out from the act of actually building software. In fact it&#x27;s been the opposite for me. Every time I&#x27;ve ever had a significant challenge, alone or in a small competent team, to get something built quickly and right, I&#x27;ve savored that challenge. The times I&#x27;ve sat up all night long coding are some of my fondest memories. I remember with startling accuracy every time we struggled getting something to work, got it figured out, and danced. I remember every white board, direct message, even every slice of pizza in the trenches.<p>I&#x27;ve even commented here on HN many times that I&#x27;ve never been burnt out coding and never will be. I&#x27;d be the last one out of here to turn off the lights when everyone else was burnt out.<p>But now I am most certainly burnt out, not from building software, but from being incarcerated in dysfunctional I.T. hell.<p>For OP and the posers who think they understand the mindset of serious software developers, here&#x27;s what really burns us out:<p><pre><code>  - the same stupid meeting every morning where nothing is raised or closed and no non-programmer has a clue
  - taking direction from the same clueless bosses who have never accomplished anything but treat us like their children
  - the new technology or philosophy du jour that does everything but address the root of any problem
  - management that absolutely cannot grok fundamentals like cause&#x2F;effect, critical path, detail&#x2F;issue, urgent&#x2F;important, diminishing returns, etc.
  - continuous leadership bombardment of idiocy and stuff we know can&#x27;t work
  - management&#x27;s complete failure to solicit or accept feedback from those of us who actually know
  - nothing written down and no one remembering anything
  - confusion by almost everyone about the difference between activity and achievement
  - no written business requirements, technical specs, or test plans, but instead, some new untested methodology
  - leaders who don&#x27;t understand the difference between steak and sizzle
  - continuous business failures because of poor leadership, not technology (and they keep doing it!)
  - I could go on and on, but I wouldn&#x27;t get anything done today and be just like my boss.
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I&#x27;d love to see an OP that addresses any of all of these things I&#x27;ve been suffering from for years, instead of a headline with a precise metric on a misunderstood premise.<p>I&#x27;ll suffer all day today and then to get rid of the corporate stink, build something cool for myself later tonight. That&#x27;s not personal burn out, it&#x27;s industry burn down.