Anthony Cole
Jul 27, 2017 · 3 min read

I’ve thought for a while about how to write this; I wasn’t sure at first whether to publish it anonymously or — well, just exactly how to say something because it’s quite hard to acknowledge and face. At times it’s felt embarrassing to talk about.

And upon some thought and reflection, I came to a conclusion. I realised that more people needs to say something — in fact, I think the more people that say something about the issues that individuals in our industry is really facing, the more we can work on coming up with a solution to a really sensitive problem. And I realised that being able to communicate something like this was the only way to conquer it.

Some really amazing friends and acquaintances, such as Kym — who was one my first friend when I moved in Melbourne — have made a great effort to highlight some of the issues we as an industry face. I wanted to write this for those amongst us who struggle, at times somewhat silently.

Because sometimes it’s really hard to wake up and go into work in the morning. And sometimes once you do, it’s embarrassing to talk about some of these issues amongst your peers — hierarchal managers or coworkers, let alone trusting friends. And that can snowball into something that starts to affect your work performance. Depression and anxiety — little things like that can cascade and seep into professional endeavours.

And as someone who is, for the most part, self taught, I’ve at times struggled with how to believe in myself sometimes. But I think that the more that we can understand this, the better. The weight from this can cause anxiety that I can’t even begin to comprehend — which makes anyone lock up and not understand what to do next.

And at a personal level, once someone get to this point, it’s really hard to follow through with changing yourself and keeping yourself grounded in the pressures of a commercial environment. KPIs and looming deadlines can quickly become a hard reality.

I’m not here to say, “Don’t let that happen”, or “Get help!”- I would, perhaps, say, “Don’t be afraid to make hard decisions and leave it too late”. I’ve found beginning to exercise, eating healthier, and most importantly, knowing when to take a break from the digital world has improved my quality of life significantly. Doing this isn’t easy — it requires effort and discipline.

Some of my friends who don’t work in tech have said from the outside that we “We have it easy”. And on paper, that’s true — we have a generally larger disposable income than most others. We have great working conditions and hours. And we have all of the associated perks like free coffee, alcohol, and pizza in the world readily available in both meetups and workplaces. But this can quickly turn into excess. And there’s not much talk of moderation. I’ve found that eating a bit healthier and only drinking every once in a while at work has improved my work performance.

As employees we are expected to deliver — my role as a Product Manager is to deliver a viable product that works — and makes money for my employer.

But philosophically speaking, there’s an inherent part of human nature inspired to achieve what we call the “good life” — a term used by Aristotle to describe happiness. And in an era of business speak with the words “growth”, “success”, and “profit” — My question to present is, “how can we make where we work a bit more human and understanding?”

Thank you.

My previous employers have been extremely supportive of anything to do with mental health, and I’d like to thank them for that.

Support is available for those who may be distressed by phoning Lifeline 13 11 14; Mensline 1300 789 978; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636.

Anthony Cole

Written by

Product Manager, Interested Person.