Regretting the Golden Handcuffs: Beware the Costs of Burnout

Re:Regretting the Golden Handcuffs: Beware the Costs of Burnout by eastbayjake on Wednesday September 02, 2015 @06:31PM (#10162342)

YES. And to an extent, just punching the clock is a defense mechanism in work environments where low autonomy + high demands are creating an environment for burnout. But I've seen bright-eyed 23-year-old engineers suffer vicious burnout by trying to tackle the low autonomy part ("Hey boss, what if we did X? Hey boss, I put together this slidedeck for this feature that would be so cool! Hey boss, check out this mockup I did of a site redesign!") and then after hitting a brick wall enough times they become embittered and disconnected.

I think it's because equity creates a belief in young workers that the company is "theirs" -- but after you've realized that startups are like any other job where you trade time for money while implementing the Highest Paid Person's Opinion, you lose that passion quickly.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Regretting the Golden Handcuffs: Beware the Costs of Burnout by jschwartzi on Thursday September 03, 2015 @01:30AM (#10163477)

I checked out about halfway through my run at my current job. I think after the third time I suggested a tool or process change and the reply from the lead was "we've never done it that way" at a startup it dawned on me that this company will never accomplish anything technically interesting.

Incidentally, there's a bonus coming up for a major milestone and I'm seriously considering handing in my two weeks notice after the direct deposit clears. The CEO tried to sell the whole equity angle, but I honestly don't see any resume improvement potential here and that's all I really care about.

I've worked at companies that gave a shit and I just don't think this is one of them.

[ Parent | on HN ]