With an
increasing number of job employment for tech engineers, stress and burnout are
increasing as well. Stress is the beginning that leads to the final stage,
burnout. Stress is a condition that an individual feels when they cannot handle
situations and emotions anymore but still have hope that it will be better and
can be overcome. On the other hand, burnout is similar but less engaging and
more deadly. Stress may kill an individual prematurely and can lead to anxiety,
but burnout may make life not worth living anymore, and leads to detachment and
depression. In short, there is still hope in stress, but not in burnout. These
conditions are more prevalent in tech jobs.
Overview of Tech Burnout
With tech jobs being around-the-clock on-call, knowledge
orientated work, and quick-thinking solutions to business issues; researchers
found that the rate of burnout is significantly higher among technology professions.
This career lifestyle creates dangerous work exhaustion, which is a major
trigger to depersonalization and diminishing achievements (Cook, 2015). Burnout
is categorized in many different models, but the focus is on three components
that drive burnout. The three are first is emotional exhaustion, second is depersonalization,
and third is inefficacy.
The most
common factors to burnout that an individual is prone to work overload. Two
classified types of work overload that tech workers face are either
quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative overload is amount of work that must
be finish in a short timeframe. Qualitative work occurs when the job
requirements exceed skill level. Both of these factors are prominent in tech
jobs. With quantitative and qualitative work overload, techies (short for tech
workers) face exhaustive time pressure that can cause a variety of
physiological, psychological, and behavioral strains. If not properly dealt
with, work overload may lead to fatal mental and physical health issues, such
as depression, accidents, fatigue, and other negative consequences. For the
body to cope with work overload, techies are most likely to feel a distance
from their work and themselves along with developing cynical attitudes, which
are part of many characteristics of burnout (Cook, 2015).
When working at tech companies, tech workers
do not have the freedom to choose their projects and work. They are often
working based on whichever job description requirements that fits their skills,
and work based on what is assigned to them. A lack of participation in
decision-making has been shown to cause work exhaustion, which is also a link
to making depersonalization, second component of burnout (Cook, 2015).
Another
skillset that techies must handle are quick to learning ongoing new technology
and computer languages. This is all done all their own without support from
their supervisors and coworkers. From this lack of support in the work
environment, workers, later on, have poor performance, and unpleasant encounter
with others when there is less feedback (Cook, 2015). Without any affirmation,
there is a lack of personal accomplishments, also known as inefficacy that is
the third component of burnout.
Risk Factors for Burnout
Risk Factors for Burnout
Burnout leads to diseases, psychological
damage, and physical strains. To elevate towards burnout, risk factors depends
on gender, age, education, occupational grade, and martial status in the work
force (Ahola, 2007). A majority of tech workers who are under the age of 35 years
old, receives a bachelors or higher, single, and working for more than five
years in a high position are more sooner to reach burnout as the work years
continue. If a worker was to be female, over 35 years old, only bachelors or
less, low work position, and married, they are more likely to burnout sooner
and would not make it to five years in the position. Being a tech worker is so
stressful that there must be time to devote their mind and body to the job to
reach longer years in the job and avoid burnout (DePasquale, Polenick, Davis,
Moen, Hammer, & Aleida, 2015).
Personal Experience and Thoughts
I already feel stress from college workload that require coding. If this continues in the workforce as I age, I think that I would burnout unless I prevent it by building and maintaining a healthy mind and body.
Work Cited:
Ahola, K. (2007). Occupational burnout and health. People and Work Research Reports 81.
https://www.tsr.fi/tsarchive/files/TietokantaTutkittu/2006/106382Loppuraportti.pdf.
Cook, S, PhD. (2015). Job Burnout of Information Technology
Workers. International Journal
of
Business, Humanities and Technology, 5(3).
DePasquale, N., Polenick, A. C., Davis, K. D., Moen, P.,
Hammer, L. B., Almeida, D. M. (2015).
The Psychosocial Implications of Managing
Work and Family Caregiving Roles: Gender
Differences Among
Information Techonology Workers. Journal
of Family Issues, 1(25).
