Every laborer sells the same the same thing: their body. It's just about which parts for how much - and the toll/risk each entails. All deserve a fair wage and respect.

Agreed.

Humans are inherently fragile beings with almost no redundant parts. If I fry your brain with long hours and politically hostile work environment and drive you to depression; vs. I fry your brain with long hours in physically exhausting environments. The results are the same - your brain is fried. One type of hostile work environment is not necessarily better or worse than another type of hostile work environment.

I've worked as both a manual laborer on a construction site and a software engineer at big tech corp. The burnout I get as an engineer is way better than what I felt as a laborer, I don't think most people who have done both would consider them similar.

How would you actually describe the burnout you get as an engineer? How long does it take? Have you recovered? How?

I suspect that there are many definitions of the term "burnout" being used by different people, making communication difficult.

I would push back against "the results are the same". They are objectively not the same. Of course physical and mental exhaustion are both bad, but I think people would prefer to work in an office than a factory and trying to equate the two experiences is a little reductive.

not necessarily true. obviously you would, but I know many people who hate the idea of working indoors. They don't toil in a factory per se, but they work outside and enjoy it.

the same time, if you have a good support group and work hard strenuous hours (like rig workers) the physical isn't that bad because you have the bouyant comfort of comraderie. but if you are in an office stuck next to someone whose values you cannot stand and clash with yours, and whose boss demands and harasses you all the time but you are stuck working paycheck to paycheck because of medical bills or something.....that's a reason to want a factory job for some.

> I think people would prefer to work in an office than a factory and trying to equate the two experiences is a little reductive.

Having worked for a couple of years as a commercial electrician, I would choose that in a heartbeat over “knowledge work”… if they paid the same.

I heard self employed electrician is a solid paying trade?

Wait until they experience several years of continuous, high-level cortisol, and they'll believe in burnout.