No. Burnout has one and only one reason - the lack of courage or resources to say “no”. No company can make you overwork yourself. The worse they can do is fire you [1].

Yes I know most people need a job. But don’t put yourself in a position where you need your current job.

I have worked for 30 years across 10 jobs everything from lifestyle companies, startups, medium size companies, boring old large enterprise companies and BigTech and currently full time as a staff architect at a third party cloud consulting company. Never once have I been stressed or experienced anything close to burn out because I was always prepared to look for another job.

Being prepared means having a strong network, living below your means, saving money, keeping your skills in sync with the market, and being interview ready. I respond to every reputable recruiter whether I am looking or not.

Also whatever you do, don’t be a ticket taker.

Before you say you don’t make enough to save, if you make a standard developer wage (not BigTech wages) and you have 3-5 years of experience, you are probably making twice the median wage in your area.

I don’t do side projects and never have. I close my computer when I get off work. I exercise consistently and religiously and have since I was 15 in 1990. I prioritize spending time with family and friends for my mental health

In other words, work toward a position of f%%% you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XamC7-Pt8N0

And before anyone says I don’t know what looking for a job is like these days, I was looking for a job in both 2023 and last year and found one quickly.

[1] Yes I am aware of the exception if you are here on H1B.