Comment by lnsru | Hacker News Reader

Comment by lnsru | Hacker News Reader

I think it also depends on toxicity of the organization. My untested hardware was sent to production line in the factory elsewhere. I was telling to every manager I could, not to do this. So “no” does not work. I was told, there will be second developer one day, but it didn’t happen. Manager of other group sees me declining and invites to go for lunch together. But he can’t help since my manager and division manager are more buddies than professionals working together. I was trying to make longer breaks to recharge working only 4 days a week, but this was canceled a day after I send proposal how to test hardware. I also got new table - a door place in open space office where I got distracted every 3 minutes. Basically my all time gets wasted sitting there. Last but not least, there will be committee next year to review everything I did in the project and do the great blaming fest. It is believed, that this will help to find the bugs I made due to my incompetence.

I read this and it does not sound real. To avoid burnout I simply need a new job. I also packed my all personal belongings and am ready to hand in my notice anytime I see it’s too much. Better unemployed for some time than mentally broken.

Some jobs just rely on attracting and retaining people with no boundaries and no ability to set them. Startups are great at this. They foster a sense of community between the workers and then understaff/overbook the team. When the invariable crisis rolls in no one even has to tell people to work until 5 am. They just do it because no one wants to "let down the team".

My last job I was at least the fourth or fifth person to break down and cry at work. Plenty of those happened in meetings where the boss man was present. They just quietly get replaced and that's that. Burn em and churn em. Never shows up on the ledger and everyone writes it off as a crazy one-off situation.

Then oh gosh a big deadline hits and we're down a person, better show off what a team player we are and make sure we hit the deadline.

> let down the team

it's a deeply wired need, and it would be interesting to discuss that. I found it easier to wake up in the morning when I felt part of team rather than going to a company be a nameless cog. Surely being a cog may avoid being overworked by never ending night shifts .. hence the debate.

I think the problem is when being part of a team is abused - so you get the expectations but not the benefits.

> They just quietly get replaced and that's that. Burn em and churn em. Never shows up on the ledger and everyone writes it off as a crazy one-off situation.

Man, it’s killing me how true this is. It’s never “we treated them so poorly they needed to quit to preserve their sanity”, it’s always “they just weren’t a great fit. Oh well.”

YMMV, but here's what worked for me (or what I wish I did in the past, but didn't).

Writing a resignation letter, even if you're not planning to hand it in immediately, might help you clear your head and make a better decision. Handing in your notice straigh after another fire/argument/nuissance, i.e. in a direct response to a single event, might turn out to be worse than doing it when things slow down a bit—purely because you'll have more control over the situation and will be able to approach it with less emotions.

> anytime I see it’s too much

Honestly, why wait?

I still have hope, I’ll find another job soon. So I am waiting and developing more marketable skills. For example I used C++ only for embedded development, but learning to use C++ for application development might open me more job opportunities. I am also creating GitHub portfolio and already have 2 followers:-) Everything is happening extremely slow, but I keep doing. Looking for a job from unemployment in Germany is very tough, better use big name of current employer during application process.

You’ll still be able to reference the company after you have left. I’ve always left my jobs before finding another. Providing there is a market available and adequate funds I would recommend anyone to do it.

After a short period of regaining your breathe and what purpose you had before you started then you will start to work on marketing yourself - GitHub profile/LinkedIn/meeting with a few recruiters...

You’re situation will probably remain the same until you jump. But you have to do the jumping, is my experience.

I would advise to never leave your job before having another signed offer, to be honest.

And honestly in our field (software) it just takes a few weeks to sign a new offer. Plenty of opportunities out there.

Depends a bit on the location though - but in certain EU countries it's not a good idea to have a gap in your employment, as it is used to calculate your holidays and retirement savings.

> in certain EU countries it's not a good idea to have a gap in your employment, as it is used to calculate your holidays and retirement savings.

I have not heard of something like that. Sure the more month you have worked the more you paid into the retirement insurance, but a couple of months won't make a difference.

Not sure which employer would give you less holidays either.

In Belgium your legal vacation days are calculated based on the number of days you have worked the previous year.

This resonates very deeply with me. Looking for another job is something you definitely should do. Apply to everything that sounds remotely interesting. Since you have a job, you don't have to take the first job they offer you, you can take your time to find something that suits you.

Regarding your workplace: I had a similar problem and I kept searching and changing desks whenever possible. I bought noise cancelling headphones and occupied empty meeting spaces. I also managed to show that I was able to deliver better solutions when I worked from home, because it was easier for me to focus. Now I use a standing desk for 50% of my time in he office. It's placed next to the window where I have a great view and nobody is moving through my peripheral vision.

I still struggle with burnout - a lot of times because of context switching - but I learn to say "no". A lot of people don't even try to debug their problems or google for errors, they just like to ask someone else. I just say: "I need to type this email first" or "there is a meeting in a few minutes, but I'll come to you right after" and when I check back with them they often solved their own problem.

Regarding your review: I think this is a chance for you. Just come prepared with a list of known problems. Software devs need to take shortcuts in order to meet clients timeline plans, but we also need to pay back the technical debt. It's not incompetence, it's prioritizing time-to-market over quality / robustness / security / maintainability.

Packing up sounds like a great plan to save your insanity

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