Programming seems like an easy career at first, but there’s an underlying problem that can make it one of the hardest. Burnout.
If you’re a programmer suffering from burnout, you would understand what I mean. And just know that you’re not alone. It’s a very common problem in the programming community. But the true reasons behind developer burnout are never really talked about.
The first reason is that developers have a horrible work life balance. Work life balance is the amount of time you spend working compared to the amount you spend doing other important things in your life, such as hanging out with friends and family, playing sport and spending time doing your what ever YOU like to do. And for some people, coding begins to take over their life. I mean, this 14 year old coding prodigy even admitted that he dreams in code. And he starts writing it the minute he wakes up, at 5:30am. That just can’t be a healthy lifestyle. The reason this burns people out is coding starts to become boring. Luckily, many people already have outdoor activities that they love to do. Exercising outdoors has been shown to increase our body’s production of endorphins, which are chemicals that make us feel pleasure and happiness. Basically, just go outside more, do activities you like, and hang out with the people close to you and you will have a much better work life balance.
The second reason is that they’re forced to program for really long periods at a time. For starters, most people in general have bad posture when sitting in chairs, but programmers take this to a whole new level. I know when I code, I’m very slouched over, with my spine almost horizontal. This is very dangerous because it can cause severe back pain, as well as neck pain. If you want a long lasting programming career, you need good posture because otherwise your body will start to limit what you can do, plus I know no-one likes pain of any sort. Staring at screens for hours at a time is another problem caused by long coding sessions, as it can cause eye strain and irritation. With this damage done to your eyes, you will probably struggle to get a good night’s sleep. If you code for long periods at a time, please take breaks, eat lots of food and stay hydrated. However, this might not possible for everyone such as if you’re working for someone else you might have limited breaks. Gaming companies are especially bad at promoting healthy wellbeing among employees as when a game is about to be released they are known to make employees work harder than what was once thought humanly possible. If this is the case, make sure to take frequent breaks and drink lots of water.
The third reason is that developers can sometimes be working in an unhealthy working environment. If you’re working for a company with strict deadlines and that doesn’t give you any breaks, your chances of burning out increase significantly. The effects of an unhealthy work environment include having no motivation, poor work life balance and constantly being tired. Luckily, tech companies are some of the best companies to work for. All the top FAANG companies like Google, Microsoft and Meta are known for their state of the art facilities, the freedom they give you, and the food and drinks they provide you. After all, these businesses know that if they can keep you as a productive as possible, it’s a win for both you and them.
So out of these three reasons I’ve given you, some of them you have control over and some you don’t. For example, for horrible work life balance you have limited control but for programming for long periods at a time, that’s mostly your responsibility. Burnout is the most common problem in the programming industry. I mean, you’re required to solve difficult problems everyday, and constantly learn new programming languages. Take what I’ve said and apply it to your life. Bye guys.
