Reply to post: Burnout

This always-on culture we're in is awful. How do we stop it? Oh, sorry, hold on – just had another notification

Big_Boomer Silver badge

Burnout

I work in a highly pressured Support environment (medical equipment) so there is even more pressure than usual to be available. However, because of the pressure I always counsel my colleagues to switch off when their shift is over and avoid the temptation to work those extra hours to "impress" somebody. Several have ignored my counsel over the years and a few of those have burned out before the company recognised what was happening. In the end the company gained a few extra hours work for free, but all the time and effort invested in training and developing that person, not to mention their experience, is now lost because they left. Some companies/managers recognise this and try to prevent it, but many still have the braindead culture where everyone walks around bragging how late they worked last night. I now laugh at such people when they tell me that they worked 60 hours last week. I say, "Wow, perhaps you should learn to be more efficient. I did the same work as you but mine got done in normal working hours."

I have a work mobile but I never check emails/messages outside of my working hours. If I'm needed, they can phone me. If I don't answer, they can call someone else. If it's super urgent, a small number of people also have my personal mobile number but I live my life as if nobody is going to call.

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