Mental Health in Tech: Are We All Going To Burn Out?

Is working in the tech sector really as good as it seems, or could it be detrimental to your health? In this video I talk about the often overlooked aspects of tech jobs, from shifting priorities to other workplace stress, and what it means for your physical and mental well-being.
Inspiration for this topic was an article I've recently discovered on Hackernews from Vadim Kravcenko. It caught my curiosity as I've also thought a lot about this topic already. Vadim writes about very important points and for some of them, I wanted to add an additional perspective.
🔗 Link to the article: vadimkravcenko.com/shorts/men...
🔗 Link to the Hackernews conversation: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=...
Whether you're a seasoned developer, just started out, or just curious about the industry, this video will provide a few interesting points that can help you to make informed decisions about your career and health.
More links:
🔗 Prof. Dr. Christina Maslach's book on burnout: www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978...
🔗 Dr. Andrew Huberman on alcohol: • What Alcohol Does to Y...
👉🏻 If you liked this video, you can help me put "UA-camr" in my CV by subscribing to my channel.
🙋🏻‍♂️ Or say hello on LinkedIn: / leonard-thiele
Chapters in this video
00:00 Intro
00:28 Disclaimer
00:52 Understanding the context
02:33 The stigma of mental health issues
04:02 What is burnout?
07:32 Anxiety is a symptom
09:19 Coping with anxiety
10:30 Burnout is not rare in tech
11:29 The impact of junior vs. senior roles
12:44 Environmental or personal causes
14:30 Juggling too many responsibilities
15:41 Many combined sources of stress
16:38 Getting help
18:31 Arbitrary deadlines
21:19 Noticing symptoms of burnout
22:29 Learning to say no
24:14 Private vs. work life
25:17 Coffee & alcohol
27:12 Finding ways to shut off
28:57 Prioritising our own health
30:18 Hackernews comment: Deadlines
31:23 Hackernews comment: Other professions
33:06 Hackernews comment: Inexperienced leaders
34:15 Outro

[@viktoryiarymkevich]

Thank you for bringing up and making a video on this topic! Such things are very hard to notice on your own and understand if it is a norm or something is wrong with you. So it is truly valuable to hear experiences and stories of others 🙏

[@benjaminthorp2208]

Really well done and comprehensive thanks for the long video. Just discovered the channel and enjoying the videos.

[@PostmanLee]

Thank you for another good video.
You are absolutely right about the stigmatisation, even though I see some light at the horizon there.
I also like the advice to get information about mental health from trustworthy sources, which can be books. But tbh, books are not necessarily more trustworthy than social media.There is another channel called 'Healthy Software Developer' here on yt that I can recommend.
When I was still working as a software developer on site, I learned to actively stop thinking about work related problems at the factory gate. Sometimes I stopped right in front of it, made a quick note and then passed it. Physical barriers are great to establish mental barriers. Luckily in this case, unfortunately in many others.
Then I changed to a management position without proper preparation on my side and without support from my boss, working mostly from home ( Covid time etc.). The job was not stressful workload wise, but for other reasons I sometimes had a pulse of over 120 for hours while sitting in front of my PC. Luckily I discovered that some breathing techniques that are used in freediving and yoga helped reduce my personal stress level.
And one thing I heard from another youtuber to reduce stress: Do not answer to all comments on your channel ;-)

[@leonardthiele]

You left me with a dilemma, do I answer this comment now or not? Haha, but since I don’t get 100s of comments, it’s still fun.
You added very good points. Physical barriers are definitely helpful and I also realised a long time ago how bad and shallow I’m breathing throughout the day. Mindful breathing exercises help a lot.
Thanks for the great addition and I hope people see your comment and learn from you as well.

[@holyonfire]

It felt like there was a lot of wisdom here, both from the article and from you. I have a feeling I will come back to rewatch this video a few times. I know I’ve needed the reminder about checking where I a on the burnout scale more than once before. It’s hard to see a way out, or see anything as “possible”, if I’ve let my self get too burnt out. I didn’t think of the cynicism as a symptom, but you talked about that well.

[@leonardthiele]

Thanks for that comment and I‘m happy that I could provide some value. All the best.