I was reading a few posts here and here about developer burnout and I've decided to throw my hat into the ring with some general observations. I do have a degree in business and I've been working on my MBA so I've done a lot of thinking about project management, employee relations, etc. lately.
Too much work can cause burnout
If you have an extremely full plate and you're hopping from task to task without any downtime to relax during a workday, your productivity will begin to drop over time.
Managers need to be aware that developer jobs are very demanding on the mind. You spend so much time in deep focus that it really is like running a marathon in your head.
Overtime is caused by not having enough time to do tasks assigned
Well duh. But think about this for a minute. If you are routinely forced to work overtime is likely due to one of the following:
- Your skills are lacking and you can't keep up with a normally paced schedule.
- The schedule is too agressive
- Act of God / Disaster threw a major kink in the process
Now #1 is your own fault. You need to either find a position more suited to your abilities or go have a talk with your bosses about getting more training or senior level help.
#2 is the company's fault. More on that in the next section.
#3 is nobody's fault, but it does happen. Poop happens, things come up. The key is getting the company to readjust the schedule or add temporary labor to get things back on schedule.
Overtime exemptions are crap
Several reasons for this statement:
- Any time you are working productively you are creating value for the company. The company should be compensating you for that value.
- By making employees overtime exempt you eliminate the penalty for poor project management. If managers can force you to work for free, why shouldn't they be over agressive?