1

It is safe to say that IT can be a high-stress career and sometimes feels like a thankless job. When everything works fine, IT can go unnoticed; when things go wrong, it can feel like the world is on fire.

Internet Self-Care Day is August 21. We all know that servers need maintenance from time to time, so it might be a good opportunity to take a break and assess whether you need some downtime as well.

Which of these signs of burnout can you relate to?
  • Feeling cynical or critical at work
  • Reluctance to go to work
  • Anxiety / Headaches
  • Being irritable or impatient with others
  • Feeling disconnected
  • Feeling disillusioned
  • Feeling dissatisfied with achievements
  • Feeling like every day is a bad day
  • Feeling like nothing you do makes a difference or is appreciated
  • Feeling overwhelmed
  • Finding it hard to concentrate
  • Lack of sleep
  • Lacking the energy to be productive / Feeling exhausted
  • Less enjoyment of things you used to like
  • Not taking care of your health
  • Unhealthy eating and drinking habits
  • Other, tell us below
  • None
0 voters

And if you’re interested in how Community members deal with work stress, check out our this conversation from earlier this year or the topic @Peter-Spiceworks just posted: Why you deserve a break: The science on how bad burnout is for your health

20 Spice ups
2

Im more the helpdesk arm of my 2 person IT team, i handle incoming plus any projects the sysadmin has, some weeks are super busy some are super slow. One particular VP doesnt understand this and expects me to be busy every minute i’m at work, and he is quiet so even if i take a quick look at my cell phone, or visit a non work website if he sees it which has happened a couple times, he calls me out on it and tells the sysadmin who is my direct boss, once even called me out to him right in front of me… I’m ADHD when its slow i need something to keep my mind from wandering… so anxiety i feel…

21 Spice ups
3

At least I managed not to check every box… I’m not sure if Lack of Sleep and Exhaustion are strictly related to burnout or just general health things but could be burnout related. I guess I’ll just power through until I win the lottery.

22 Spice ups
4

When I worked for MSPs, burnout definitely was the norm. I got sick of it and quit. Eventually I found a job at a non-profit that values people over money. I took a big pay cut, but the environment is stable, and the organization respects work-life balance. I’m much happier here than I was at the MSPs.

25 Spice ups
5

Ugh. I’ve been here over 8 years, and everything was ok until I got promoted and gained a new (micro)manager…

18 Spice ups
6

Worked in a school, saved their asses more times than i can care to mention due to penny pinching. Yet every time i did, a member of the leadership team at the school would stand in front of the teaching staff and thank my manager for solving the issues. Only found this out as my manager was at one of these meetings and interrupted telling them all he hadn’t done a thing and it was all down to me. Once he told me that, it was time for me to go before a certain memebr of the leadership team received a slight tap to the jaw.

11 Spice ups
7

Needs an “All of the above” box.

Retirement can’t come soon enough.

40 Spice ups
8

This is why I (mostly) left IT and now (mostly) am a photographer. I was doing helpdesk and getting, I dunno, brittle. Everyone who needed help was mad and it was always my fault and my mood was always foul and negative. Nobody wins in that scenario.

18 Spice ups
10

I agree 100% ! 3-4 years and I retire and it cant come soon enough. I am a one man show at a large hotel with multiple restaurants, a marina and 3 golf courses. We are located in the northeast one hour from the Canada border so that means 4 more lousy long cold winters till I can move south… Yup retirement cant come soon enough! Oh and yes it Needs an “All of the above” box.

Retirement can’t come soon enough.

20 Spice ups
11

I was manager of a small IT team in an ISP. One team member was quite challenging, and due to that I was taking on more and more of their work to cover everyone’s behinds. Due to this, and their behaviour I hated going in to work, felt underappreciated, definitely had sleepless nights and suffered physically with anxiety symptoms. Now, I’m no longer a manager, they have left the team, I’m better able to cope.

11 Spice ups
12

Totally agree, working for an MSP one time cured me of that desire ever again. They had us record every minute of our day, including bathroom breaks. It was insane, stripped everything it meant to be a human, made us feel like a robot. I don’t know how the others managed multi-year careers there, but I was gone in a few months. Being “on-call” every other weekend SUCKED too, not able to do anything on our days off, unpaid. It was a large regional MSP, too, good reviews but it sure wasn’t for me.

9 Spice ups
13

I definitely can be a little more irritable some days. It makes me feel bad because I got into this field to help people, which I do, but sometimes they are more wrong than they know. I wish they would stop rambling and let me explain what the issue is, not what they think it is. I don’t want to say I come across as a horrible grump as I have a positive reputation around my job. It just gets tiring.

Definitely struggling with changing gears when I get home some days. My SO wants to vent and I am still in fix-it mode. I guess the key is that I am aware of it and trying to work on it.

14 Spice ups
14

I’ve been in my new role now almost 1 year (2 weeks from now to the day actually), and I’m back into what I love doing. I have a terrible habit of taking on roles and responsibilities that others can’t do (level of role), refuse to learn (boss doesn’t enforce it), or it’s simply not getting done and would not the office to have a bad reputation. It’s why I had more than 15 responsibilities, and the same amount of work as 3 full-time staff. Don’t get me wrong, I loved what I did on the technical side of things but with the administrative stuff I kept picking up; I got to where I didn’t want to go into the office b/c I knew I wouldn’t get anything done that needed it. Now that I’ve been in my new role at another office on the OSU campus, I’m back to enjoying my work again and know that things won’t get to where they were in my last job. :slight_smile:

10 Spice ups
15

I looked for the “all of the above” checkbox and could not find it.
All of the above isn’t 100% accurate though. I try my best to eat healthy despite the chaos wat work.
And I wasn’t sure if the “feeling disconnected” was about colleagues, friends/family or other so I didn’t choose that.
Once I decompress on Friday night many of the tick boxes can get unchecked. I don’t look at email and I don’t rush to check my phone when it rings or texts come in (fortunately it is very rare for me to get alerts on the weekend). Life is peaceful until late Sunday when I remember the fun stuff that will be waiting for me when I sign in on Monday. I agree with the other comments that a willing lottery ticket (I play regularly) and/or retirement cannot come soon enough.

8 Spice ups
16

My co-admin is in his 60s and absolutely miserable - people dread having to deal with him. I am in my 30s and try my best to make sure to remain positive and kind to users/managers, so the top result (irritable) doesn’t really apply to me. I love my job.

However, I do feel most of the rest. Also, ADHD is real and is a benefit and curse in this job.

7 Spice ups
17

I have learned to look after my own needs first. Just like in regular emergency situations, you have to make sure you’re good before you can help anyone else. I’ve gotten good at telling people (sincerely) that I’m tied up with something important at the moment, but that I’ll get to them as soon as possible.

8 Spice ups
18

If every day is a bad day please seek some help.

11 Spice ups
19

For me, it’s more about not celebrating a massive 3 year project to completion, but getting another large project two weeks before the completion. No reflection time of the completed project (thorns and roses) to prevent issues withe next one. Hence no deep breath for the next one.
(yes merging “with the” to “withe” for efficiency, hence no longer efficient because explanation ;->))

6 Spice ups
20

Throw in Autism as well as ADHD and each day is joyful

7 Spice ups
21

Would it have been faster just to include an “All of the Above” button?

3 Spice ups