10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Experiencing Burnout
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Presented at: Open Source 101 2020 - Columbia & Open Source SC After Conference Meetup Presented by: Jason Hibbets, Red Hat
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10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Experiencing Burnout
- 1. @jhibbets 10 things I wish I knew before experiencing burnout Jason Hibbets Community Architect at Enable Sysadmin, Red Hat
- 2. @jhibbets A perfect storm (of stress) Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/sunset-dusk-lightning-storm-2530165/
- 3. @jhibbets The breaking point Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/karate-kungfu-sport-artimarziali-2717178/
- 4. @jhibbets Crumbling under the pressure Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/drop-of-water-rain-table-weather-909130/
- 5. @jhibbets Losing motivation and passion Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/people-emotion-dramatic-female-1492052/
- 6. @jhibbets Diagnosis: Severe anxiety Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/medical-appointment-doctor-563427/
- 7. @jhibbets Burnout: A real threat to open source & tech communities Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/matches-matchstick-flammable-wood-171732/
- 8. @jhibbets Burnout starts with passion Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/blacksmith-iron-fitting-forge-1761341/
- 9. @jhibbets #1 - Know the signs of burnout Image credit: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/burnout-font-fire-flame-stress-2161445/
- 10. @jhibbets I’m working so hard! Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/blue-motivation-neon-lights-sign-1845901/
- 11. @jhibbets Ask yourself... ● Do you drag yourself to work? ● Do you have trouble getting started with work? ● Are you cynical or critical at work? ● Have you become irritable or impatient with co-workers or customers? ● Do you lack energy to be productive? ● Do you find it hard to concentrate? ● Do you lack satisfaction from your achievements? ● Do you feel disillusioned about your work? ● Are you using food, drugs or alcohol to feel better or to simply not feel? ● Have your sleep habits changed? ● Are you troubled by unexplained headaches, stomach or bowel problems, or other physical complaints?
- 12. @jhibbets Consequences of burnout ● Chronic fatigue ● Insomnia ● Forgetfulness ● Increased illness ● Loss of appetite ● Anxiety ● Anger ● Loss of interest ● Separation from people
- 13. @jhibbets #2 - Preventing burnout: Unplug Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/cable-connection-cable-salad-4805387/
- 14. @jhibbets #2 - Preventing burnout: Unplug and completely escape Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/beach-hammock-tropical-sea-1044369/
- 15. @jhibbets #3 - Preventing burnout: Avoid the “always on” feeling Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/sound-studo-mixing-console-desk-393042/
- 16. @jhibbets #3 - Preventing burnout: Avoid the “always on” feeling Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/music-dj-audio-sound-equipment-3569417/
- 17. @jhibbets #4 - Preventing burnout: Set limits and share them Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/cape-cod-provincetown-dune-grass-2232972/
- 18. @jhibbets #4 - Preventing burnout: Set limits and share them Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/chainlink-fence-metal-wire-690503/
- 19. @jhibbets #5 - Preventing burnout: Flexible work schedule Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/agenda-smartphone-schedule-plan-4205694/
- 20. @jhibbets #5 - Preventing burnout: Flexible work schedule Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/plumbing-pipe-wrench-plumber-840835/
- 21. @jhibbets #6 - Preventing burnout: Be aware of how you spend time Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/watches-old-antique-time-indicating-1204696/
- 22. @jhibbets #7 - Preventing burnout: Avoid unplanned work Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/repair-car-car-repair-service-1189161/
- 23. @jhibbets #7 - Preventing burnout: Turn unplanned work into planned work
- 24. @jhibbets #8 - Managing stress: Have a stress outlet Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/painter-paint-cans-brush-paintbrush-1246619/
- 25. @jhibbets #8 - Managing stress: Have a stress outlet Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/book-crafts-design-hobby-supplies-1081924/
- 26. @jhibbets #9 - Managing stress: Better time management Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/topsy-turvy-world-funny-conversely-1289085/
- 27. @jhibbets #9 - Managing stress: Better time management Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/hourglass-egg-timer-time-clock-2665706/
- 28. @jhibbets #9 - Managing stress: Delegate like a boss! Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/hourglass-egg-timer-time-clock-2665706/
- 29. @jhibbets #10 - Managing stress: Learn how to say no Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/traffic-light-red-red-light-stop-1024826/
- 30. @jhibbets #10 - Managing stress: Learn how to say no Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/train-railway-line-netherlands-1142012/
- 31. @jhibbets Burnout: Don’t suffer in silence Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/match-red-black-sticks-match-head-610407/
- 32. @jhibbets #1 - Know the signs of burnout #2 - Preventing burnout: Unplug #3 - Preventing burnout: Avoid the “always on” feeling #4 - Preventing burnout: Set limits and share them #5 - Preventing burnout: Flexible work schedule #6 - Preventing burnout: Be aware of how you spend time #7 - Preventing burnout: Avoid unplanned work #8 - Managing stress: Have a stress outlet #9 - Managing stress: Better time management #10 - Managing stress: Learn how to say no 10 things I wish I knew before experiencing burnout https://burnoutindex.org
- 33. @jhibbets ● 3 things I wish I knew before experiencing burnout ● Practical guide for avoiding burnout and living a happier life ● What you need to know about burnout in open source communities ● 5 rules for avoiding burnout ● 7 tips for avoiding burnout ● On a DevOps team? Learn the art of saying no ● Job burnout: How to spot it and take action ● Employee Burnout Statistics You Need to Know ● Tech Industry Burnout: Which Companies Have It Worst? ● Say No, Like a Boss! Additional reading and resources
- 34. @jhibbets Contact Email: jhibbets@redhat.com Twitter: @jhibbets IRC: shibby | Slack: jhibbets Book: http://theopensourcecity.com Slides: https://github.com/jhibbets/presentations
Editor's Notes
- Smile :) Introduce yourself
- In early 2017 I was mentally in a pretty bad spot. It was the perfect storm of stress, the kind that no one asks for. Work was piling up to a point where I couldn’t process all the things that were expected of me. I was training for spring half-marathons which should have been stress relief, but I was putting too much pressure on myself to perform at a high level. And then on top of the everyday family obligations, a surgery in our household turned us into a one-car family which seriously added to the amounting pressure on me to provide and take care of the family.
- I finally reached a breaking point. And it wasn’t just one thing. It was the culmination of things. And it hit me from the blind side, I was caught completely off guard. I never thought I would be a victim of burnout, I was aware if it and thoughtful about the community I was managing. But “not me” I thought to myself, I’ve got this under control. I remember thinking that something was wrong, something was off. But I couldn’t quite put my finger on the source.
- I distinctly remember the day where I cried at work, crumbling under the pressure that I was putting on myself. I sat in my manager’s office and the faucets wouldn’t stop. I was at a low point. My manager assured me that we would get through this and wanted to help. And then he sent me home. I was hopeful and thankful for the offer of help. I didn’t open the laptop for the rest of the day, I got some rest, and started coming up with a plan. I luckily already had some vacation on the calendar that was my short-term target. And when I finally went on the trip, I intentionally did not pack any tech shirts! Do you how many tech shirts are in my wardrobe? I was pushing myself to exceed the goals that my team co-creates because I want our work to be successful. I want the feeling that comes with it. But this experience was different. This wasn’t a healthy win, for me or my team. I felt like I let everyone down, including myself.
- When I look back, I was showing the signs of burnout. I didn’t have much of an appetite. I was tired all the time. I was sleeping in, and not because of jet lag. I was doing strange things, like working from the back of my car while I was helping with family obligations. I was cleaning off my desk like I was about to quit my job. I was exercising, but wasn’t getting the endorphins I was used to. And I wasn’t motivated to do the work that I normally love to do. I was very blah and meh about getting work done or hanging out with people I love.
- I scheduled my annual physical and talked to my doctor about my situation. They recommended I see a physcologist. I sat on the coach and talked things out. I was diagnosed with severe anxiety. Which for me, was close enough to burnout to know that I didn’t want to know what true depression felt like. These are all signs of depression and burnout. A lesson I learned the hard way. I’d like to share my experience so that you can recognize the signs and avoid going down this path. Some of the tips and solutions I’m going to share may not work for your situation, so your mileage may vary, but I hope you’ll find them useful or are able to modify them for your situation. And before we move on, I must share that it’s perfectly fine to ask for help. Ask a trusted coworker,a friend, a family members, or a medical professional for help or guidance. We’re human and we need to help each other through the ups and the downs.
- There is a lot of passion from community members in open source and tech. We push ourselves to contribute to projects, joining a community, signing up for issues to resolve, and sometimes, taking on more than we can volunteer for. It’s important for all of us to know the signs of burnout, take measures to prevent burnout, and reduce stress. Gallup surveyed 7,500 full-time employees about burnout in 2018. 23 percent of those workers said they felt burned out more often than not. An additional 44 percent reported feeling burned out sometimes. Source: https://www.hrexchangenetwork.com/employee-engagement/news/employee-burnout-statistics-you-need-to-know But if you just survey the tech industry, as workplace app Blind did in May 2018, that statistic more than doubles! A survey of over 11,000 anonymous industry professionals found that 57 percent reported that they currently suffer from workplace burnout.
- Passion means going above and beyond. A word of caution: Passion can lead to burnout. I was willing to work extra hours, sign-up for extra tasks, push myself to perform--I still am, but now I know the boundaries of those extra efforts and I know I can push hard when I need to. But our work needs to be balanced with things like recognition, rewards, and relaxation. Take your passion for work and make it work for you--but balance it with some of the tips I’m about to share.
- #1 - Lesson number one about burnout is to know the signs. Simply put, burnout is a form of depression where you are not motivated to perform the things that are expected of you at your job. It’s not the occasional slacking off or the spring fever because the weather is nice. It’s a build-up and emotional stress where you don’t want to do what is asked of you. Sometimes, health care providers may refer to burnout as compassion fatigue. In 2019, the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases added a new diagnosis defining chronic workplace stress as “burnout syndrome.” The ICD categorizes diseases for diagnosis by health care professionals and determines coverage for health insurers.
- There are numerous factors that can lead to burnout. Too much work or travel, unclear expectations, unreasonable deadlines, toxic culture, or work-life imbalance. I remember one thing, extremely abnormal for me because I’m so social, is that I started to separate myself from team activities and people I would normally hangout with. Hey Jason, want to grab lunch with us? Nope, I’m too busy. Hey Jason, Matt’s in town, want to join us for happy hour? No. I’ve got work to do. This is totally unlike me. I would normally have said yes to both those opportunities.
- According to the Mayo Clinic, here are a few things you can ask yourself if you think you are experiencing the symptoms of burnout: Are you becoming cynical at work? Do you lack energy to do things you normally like to do? Are you using food, drugs, or alcohol to feel better or to not feel at all? Have your sleeping habits changed?
- I mentioned a few above that I was experiencing, but let’s get a better picture of the symptoms of burnout. Sometimes people get really ill. You might feel a loss of appetite or a loss in interest of things that you normally like. I was feeling separation from my team, I was “too busy” to be around them. I wasn’t sleeping well, and would stay up late and sleep in longer. And ultimately, this led to severe anxiety for me. One thing to note, it’s very difficult to self-diagnose burnout. You and your team should know the signs and hold each other accountable. And one other thing to mention here is that you should listen to your body. If your body is telling to no, then you should take a step back and try to piece together what’s happening.
- The second lesson I’d like to share are techniques on how to prevent burnout. First, you need to take time away from the job and plan time to unplug and unwind. This means planning vacations, staycations, or other planned time away from work. It can be hard to unplug like this with the pressures we put on ourselves and obligations from work. In fact, I was just talking with a co-worker about the three different levels of paid time off (PTO). There’s: 1) Best way to unplug: I’m totally cut-off, not logging in, not checking email, turning off notifications, and I probably won’t open my laptop except for personal tasks. 2) Decent way to unplug: I’m kind of checking in, but not as responsive as normal. 3) Meh way to unplug: I’m available if you need me, I’ll monitor email, but I’m away from normal office life.
- Depending on your situation, the various levels of time off just described may work for you to address stress and re-energize. In my experience, you need at least two total check-outs a year. Again -- that’s no email and laptops down. I’d also like to mention that I have certain times of year that are busier than others. So having a vacation plan and knowing when you have time to relax and unplug is great for your mental health! I typically will have a blend of all three throughout the year, but since 2017, I have taken at least three, one-week vacations to completely escape and unplug. It’s a WONDERFUl feeling and I feel like i’m in control. It’s working so far!
- #3 It’s easy nowadays to be connected 24 hours a day. But being connected all the time is not healthy. One way to avoid being "always on" is to share your availability. Your calendar can be a great tool to do this, but there are special times when being more specific about your schedule—beyond times and dates—can be handy. For example, when you’re out of the office for a conference—or on vacation—communicate your time constraints and availability with the people you work with in advance of that time away. Let them know if you’re checking email, phone, and chat, and how to get help from your team while you’re away.
- If you’re on vacation, your answer should be, "I am not checking messages until I’m back in the office." Use an auto-responder to set expectations, share your schedule, and provide other contacts if someone needs assistance. Let people know how to get help when you not available. A second example I’d like to share is a best practice for your team: take time to define how everyone should communicate. Set clear expectations on how you communicate in real-time, asynchronously, and how meetings should be run.
- #4 Imposing limits and sharing them can help you save time and prioritize important things in your life. You can set limits on the amount of time you research an issue before reaching out for help. You can limit the time you spend on email. You can block time in your calendar to avoid interruptions. You can turn off chat and email notifications. I was recently setting up a meeting, and literally saw a block of time on a colleague’s calendar labeled "absolutely no meetings."
- Another great example from my personal experience is attending meet-ups. There are many, many meet-ups, II could attend each week in the Triangle region of North Carolina, where I live. About the time when my daughter turned three years old and my son was nine, I realized I wanted to be home in the evenings more to see my kids. I didn’t want to turn around 10 years later and see that my children are all grown up, but I meet a lot of great people at these meet-ups. So I decided to set a limit: I could attend up to two meet-ups per week. This policy made me prioritize which meet-ups were important, and gave me more time with my family.
- #5 Having a flexible work schedule or working remote can be a key way to address "after-hours" work and all those extra things that come up. But it’s also helpful for someone like me to manage my productivity. I’m not much of a morning person, so I reserve my mornings for exercise. My morning workouts get the blood flowing and help me prepare for the day—and they’re a great stress reliever. When approaching your schedule, let your team know what your "core hours" are. If something comes up, work or personal, that impacts those core hours, communicate any changes with your team. Example: I’ve got a meet-up tonight so I’ll be in the office a little later than normal or I’ve got an appointment from 10-12 and I won’t be available. My team has a shared calendar with our remote status and abnormal activity to indicate our availability. It’s been working great for us and really helps to address one of the most asked questions from my team: Where’s Jason?
- Here’s another example: If you have a late-night code push, adjust your day to start later, or take off early on a future day. My team typically does code releases in the morning. When that happens, I shift my day around to get up early and QA the code release in production, then adjust my day making sure I don’t give up my "me time." Which I’ll talk about shortly. As long as your team knows your availability and what you’re working on, they respect your time. Now I know that not everyone can have a flexible work schedule like this, so I encourage you to find ways to protect your mental health within your bounds. Maybe you could start a mental health interest group or community of practice at your job location?
- #6 Easier said than done for many people, so I’d like to ask, do you know where you spend most of your time each day? Are you trapped in meetings? Spending hours answering email? Here is a great exercise to do: Write down what you spend your time doing for a week, and then analyze it. Figure out where you can gain some efficiency. Identify stressful things in your schedule and try to remove them, reduce them, or pair them with a stress reliever. Block out times for yourself. For example, I block everyday from 8:30 - 9:30 am to get my daughter on the school bus and to do a workout.
- #7 One of the worst abusers of how we spend out time at work is unplanned work. By a show of hands, I’m curious: do you all agree or disagree with this? PagerDuty conducted a study about unplanned work and found that “70% or more technology staff are negatively impacted by unplanned work in three or more different ways, including heightened stress and anxiety, reduced work-life balance, and less time to focus on important work.” Source: https://www.pagerduty.com/blog/unplanned-work-devops/ My advice is to find ways ways to convert or transform unplanned work into planned work. Ask yourself things like, what can I automate? But avoid getting stuck in the cycle of “I’ll find a way to automate this one day” Just do the math and find time to invest in automating what you can, to free time up for your future self.
- One technique that I use is to get tasks out of my inbox and into Trello cards. This allows me to not have to use my Inbox as a task list and to take unplanned tasks and get them organized and prioritized. Another technique I use is to prepare as much in advance as possible, so that you can have time to react to fires when you need to address them. This means identifying things that can be done in advance and avoid procrastinating until they “have to be done.” This is key for me when planning and organizing events like meet-ups. I plan and do what I can before the event. Things like scheduling social media or ordering food with plenty of runway. If you’re in a team situation, is there a way to share the pains of unplanned work by rotating who’s on call and documenting everything! Document tasks so that each member of your team can perform them and practice by cross training. Document how you resolve incidents and share best practices with your team. I feel it’s almost impossible to avoid unplanned work, so hopefully some of these tips can help better manage it.
- #8 I’d now like to share some ways to effectively manage stress. You should have some type of stress outlet, like a hobby, a sport, or an activity that frees your mind from work and other life demands. If you work on computers all day, I would recommend that this activity be unplugged and offline. The activity could be painting, photography, hiking, reading, or anything you really like to do and find relaxing. My first go to for stress management is exercise. I’m addicted to it. I workout pretty much every single day. And I like to mix it up: Cardio, weight lifting, swimming, running, cycling, surfing, and HIIT (high intensity interval training) are staples in my exercise. I used to focus solely on running and would run 4-6 half marathons a year, but recently switched to focus on Triathlons. The multidisciplinary part of Triathlons activities has brought more joy to my life as well as a different challenge.
- It might sound a little harsh, but you can’t help your team or your family if you’re not in a good spot. I like to use the analogy from the pre-flight safety check announcement: "In the event of a loss of cabin pressure, an oxygen mask will drop down. Put your mask on first before helping others." In other words, make time for yourself (also known as "me time"), whether that means making time for meditation, reading, exercise, or your favorite hobby. And avoid creating a habit of skipping this time in favor of work. In fact, you should protect this time above all things.
- #9 Another way to reduce stress is to manage your time better. Time is our most precious resource. You’ve got to choose how you want to spend your time. Family, work, self, social? It’s up to you. Find ways to work more efficiently, more effectively, and make sure that you put yourself first. Again, you can’t help others if you’re in a bad spot.
- Here are a few tips to improve time management, your results may vary depending on how you operate. Use a calendar to help manage your time, block off your “me time” and protect blocks of time to get work done. As mentioned earlier, analyze how you spend your time and figure out where you can gain some efficiency. Default to 30 minutes meetings that have an agenda and desired outcome. Plan ahead and use a to-do list. Start your day by doing the most important tasks first. Don’t waste time waiting, fill the wait time with quick, mindless tasks or use that time to relax. Batch similars items together to keep your brain from having to switch gears. Learn how to delegate, which can be very hard for people who are high achievers to do.
- And if delegation isn’t your think, be sure to check out this talk from Deb Nicholson called Delegate like a boss!
- #10 There is a fantastic article on Opensource.com by Chris short on learning the art of saying no: https://opensource.com/article/18/5/art-saying-no-devops The first rule of saying no is to have an honest assessment of what your time, availability, and interests are. I mention “interest,” because if you really don’t want to do something that’s being being asked of you, then don’t do it. Spend time doing things that draw out your passions. The hard part about saying no is there is so much opportunity. Working on a new project or traveling to new places can seem exciting, but being practical about your ability to participate and put an effort into something that you would be proud is a good filter to start with. Essentially, use logic and reason instead of committing to something based-off of your emotion.
- Jen Krieger shared some great advice on another Opensource.com article about setting rules for avoiding burnout. She created some rules around saying yes in order to get better at saying no. https://opensource.com/business/16/5/5-rules-avoiding-burnout These questions are useful: Is it no? Or not right now? Is it no? Or not the way you asked me to do it? Is it no? Or can we do a little bit now and increment into the rest of the request? Is it no? Or do we need a better-defined goal before I can commit? If it is a yes, how do I know I can commit to the work? If you decide to decline an opportunity and have to say no, do it with grace. “Normally I would jump all over this opportunity, however I don’t have the time right now to put in the effort I’d like to.”
- Don’t suffer in silence. Whatever you do to approach burnout, remember, you don’t have to face it by yourself. Approach your manager, or talk to a trusted colleague. Get help before you burn out, and seek medical attention for more serious cases. The good news is, if you do experience burnout, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Once I figured out what was wrong, I was able to devise a plan and recover. Mostly, I found time AFK (away from keyboard) helped in my situation. And while I still have intense moments at work, I’m much better equipped to deal with them, because of my experience and support from my team. If you’re in a situation where you don’t have an advocate who you can talk to at work and you’re not getting the support you need, put your mental health first. Let’s face it, that might be a sign that it’s time to consider a new job. ...and get your camera’s ready for the next slide
- Burnout can lead to fatigue, excessive stress, sadness, anger, irritability, insomnia, alcohol or substance misuse, heart disease, and other medical conditions. All things that are not good for humans or for your team at work. If you manage people or manage a team, not only do you need to know and understand the symptoms and signs of burnout, you need to be understanding and supportive. Help those around you and under you avoid burnout. Be sure to check out the Burnout Index - a 10 question quiz you can take anonymously to access your stress levels. I hope you can use the tips shared today to put yourself first, reduce stress, and prevent burnout.
- Additional reading on this topic.
- Again, I’m Jason Hibbets, and I got burned out so you don’t have to. Thank you