l8luA?

MA8CP 19 2010
1he h|dden dangers of work|ng |n I1
Worklng ln l1 has a loL of up sldes Lhere ls always new and lnLeresLlng challenges LhaL can be preLLy fun Lo solve
llnlshlng a producL ls always exclLlng CeLLlng lnLo a solld sLaLe of producLlvlLy ls also a loL of fun geLLlng LhaL rush of
flow golng and loslng yourself ln lL
8uL Lhere are a number of negaLlve aspecLs LhaL l donL Lhlnk many people are fully aware of Sure mosL people know
one or Lwo buL probably donL reallze Lhey may be sufferlng from Lhe slde effecLs of Lhe lndusLry LhaL Lhey arenL
aware of
l have experlenced burn ouL Lwlce ln my career afLer worklng for 3 years ln one [ob or anoLher and l know lLs a
preLLy common Lhlng ln l1 !usL yesLerday one of my colleagues was Lelllng me abouL a frlend of Lhelrs who was a
brllllanL developer buL goL so burnL ouL he qulLe and now he works as an aLLendanL ln a parklng garage
LveryLhlng ln llfe has a poslLlve slde and a negaLlve slde and whlle lL probably lsnL a good ldea Lo dwell endlessly on
Lhe negaLlve lL ls very beneflclal Lo be aware of lL and develop sLraLegles Lo overcome lL
So leLs go Lhrough Lhe negaLlve aspecLs of worklng ln l1 and look aL some ways of overcomlng Lhem
Menta| exhaust|on uue Lo Lhe lnLense naLure of l1 work lL lnvolves a loL of deep Lhlnklng learnlng new
concepLs and hours of lnLense concenLraLlon 1hls can qulckly use up our menLal reserves and leave us feellng
dralned and braln dead aL Lhe end of Lhe day Lspeclally when we are dolng a loL of overLlme 1hls ln lLself lsnL so
much of an lssue buL lL ofLen leads Lo oLher problems for example feellng Loo dralned Lo exerclse or cook a proper
meal aL Lhe end of Lhe day or do any producLlve Lhlngs LhaL can be done ln Lhe evenlng llke soclallze and acLually llve
your llfe!
1he besL way Lo deal wlLh Lhls ls Lo work less or Lake a nap afLer your work day ls over uonL do consLanL overLlme!
8e aware of your menLal energy and you wlll geL good aL noL overworklng yourself Lhere ls noLhlng wrong wlLh
Laklng a break [usL puL up a page of code and preLend you are Lhlnklng abouL lL whlle you llsLen Lo some muslc or
someLhlng ace yourself l caLch a 1 hour Lraln Lo and from work so generally l deal wlLh Lhls by havlng a nap on Lhe
way home Lhen l begln my evenlng wlLh loLs of menLal energy!
8ad hea|th Pumans arenL deslgned Lo slL aL a desk for mosL of Lhelr llfe we were deslgned Lo be acLlve and
dolng Lhlngs Lo survlve When worklng ln l1 we need Lo flnd some Llme Lo do some exerclse and eaL decenL food
8eware Lhe Lrap of Loo much caffelne and sugar Lo compensaLe for menLal faLlgue and poor healLh
?ou donL need Lo go Lhe gym or [oln a sporLs Leam Lhough Lhese are also good Lhlngs buL lLs lmporLanL Lo flnd
someLhlng physlcal LhaL you en[oy and can do regularly 1ry dlfferenL Lhlngs personally l do a 1013 mlnuLe exerclse
rouLlne every mornlng lnvolvlng Lhlngs l can do anywhere llke squaLs sLar [umps crunches and pushups 1hen l llke
Lo do someLhlng ouLslde once or Lwlce a week squash long walks swlmmlng rldlng a blcycle
1he computer |s not your fr|end no maLLer how much l1 guys fanLaslze abouL a sexy female Al we have Lo
face Lhe LruLh LhaL Lhese donL exlsL yeL uo female l1 workers fanLaslze abouL male Als? ld love Lo know Lhe answer
Lo LhaL one!
1he facL ls worklng aL Lhe compuLer means we mlss ouL on Lhe soclal aspecL LhaL mosL oLher [obs requlre so lf we
arenL careful we end up geLLlng very rusLy ln Lhe soclal skllls whlch LranslaLes Lo fewer and fewer frlends and
evenLually Lo lonely unhapplness 1hls ofLen happens over a longer perlod of Llme so lL can be easy noL Lo noLlce lL
unLll one day you wlnd up aL some parLy and reallse you are sLruggllng Lo relaLe Lo anyone!
|fe dra|n|ng 1here wlll always be anoLher urgenL sysLem LhaL needs Lo be bullL yesLerday donL leL companles
Lake over your llfe lLs easy Lo lose slghL of your blgger llfe goals when you spend all your days puLLlng all your energy
lnLo someone elses code l llve ln AusLralla where we geL 4 weeks hollday Lhls lsnL ever enough here overLlme ls a
soclal norm so wlLh over Llme and 48 weeks worLh of work Lhose 4 weeks are mosLly used Lo recover caLch up wlLh
famlly and deal wlLh oLher real llfe emergencles LhaL come up llke weddlngs and funerals We need Lo llve our own
llves ouLslde work follow our own passlons develop ourselves learn new Lhlngs Lravel and spend Llme wlLh Lhose
we care abouL l learnL Lhls lesson Lhe hard way afLer developlng sLress relaLed depresslon Work does noL equal llfe
My soluLlon Lo Lhls ls Lo Lake blg breaks l1 pays falrly well so save up some money Lell your boss you plan on Laklng
36 monLhs off every couple of years Clve Lhem loLs of warnlng Save a llLLle exLra ln case Lhey declde Lo flre you and
you need Lo flnd a new poslLlon when you geL back and Lake back some of your own llfe 1hls soluLlon only works lf
you donL llve aL Lhe edge of your means donL geL a morLgage you can barely afford Lo pay off donL llve a hugely
expenslve llfe sLyle 1lme ls worLh more Lhan Lhlngs so buy some of lL back off your work CLher opLlons mlghL be
worklng 4 days a week or movlng Lo lrance where Lhey are only permlLLed Lo work 33 hours a week
Stress llkewlse we can geL a loL of sLress can come from a loL of areas deadllnes (usually arLlflclal) unreallsLlc
expecLaLlons unclear speclflcaLlons even lack of work can be sLressful
lve found Lhe besL way Lo deal wlLh sLress ls Lo expecL some level remember l1 lsnL easy and ls a hlghly lmporLanL
componenL of many buslness LhaL Lhey donL fully undersLand so Lhey are llkely Lo be fearful and sLressed and puL
LhaL sLress on you as Lhe experL uonL buy lL 8e really clear on whaL you can do and how long you Lhlnk lL wlll Lake
8alse any lssues as soon as you are aware of Lhem LeL people know lf you are sLuck on someLhlng 1he maln Lhlng ls
Lo make sure you assess your own success and use your own [udgmenL over LhaL of your bosses or coworkers ?ou
are Lhe besL [udge of lf you are dolng a good [ob noL Lhem
l would love Lo hear how oLher people deal wlLh Lhese lssues and any oLher lssues you Lhlnk l may have mlssed!
osLed by !al aL 743 M
Labels sLress happlness work l1
22 commenLs

LrlsLan sald
CreaL posL 1he arLlflclal deadllnes one always frusLraLes me l llke Lhe ldea of a nap Lo boosL menLal energy lll [usL
have Lo geL beLLer aL napplng my mlnlmum sleep Llme Lends Lo be 1 hr and usually 2 So ld be waklng up aL 9 afLer
geLLlng home from work Lhen unable Lo sleep agaln

March 19 2010 1141 M
Ally sald
Pmm as a woman self employed own shop 3 klds and parLner who goes home and cooks a meal every nlghL sorLs
ouL all washlng lronlng?ou knew where Lhls posL was golng
l do Lurn over over $200000 a year so lLs noL llke l slL around all day
l have never heard so much whlnlng!usL geL on and do whaL you are belng pald Lo do and for any womans sake
donL go home and bore her Lo Lears wlLh your day!

March 20 2010 1213 AM
lan lerguson sald
CreaL arLlcle couldnL have puL lL beLLer myself lm sufferlng from burnouL buL forLunaLely have an undersLandlng
employer
l also do Lhe long hollday Lhlng every couple of years l Lake off on my moLorblke and explore some new counLrles
We need someLhlng llke LhaL ln a hlghsLress [ob noL [usL for Lhe break buL as someLhlng Lo look forward Lo and
make lL all feel worLhwhlle
l wlsh Lhe concepL of a slesLa had more publlc supporL ln Lhe uk (lLs seen as a comedy Lhlng or for lazy Spanlards)
lLs acLually a greaL ldea My afLernoons would me so much more producLlve lf l could have a nap Lo help dlgesL lunch
and rebooL my braln

March 20 2010 1217 AM
llsaseelye sald
uo female l1 workers fanLaslze abouL male Als?

As a female sysadmln l fanLaslze abouL havlng free Llme Lo compleLe slde pro[ecLs lnsLead of [uggllng 13 pro[ecLs wlLh
changlng prlorlLles

March 20 2010 1234 AM
!lm Cummlns sald
1hls posL has been removed by a blog admlnlsLraLor
March 20 2010 110 AM
1oy sald
1hls posL has been removed by a blog admlnlsLraLor
March 20 2010 222 AM
!ay sald
!al your arLlcle ls relevanL and lLs always been llke Lhls ln l1 (lve been ln l1 for 13 years and have seen burnouL on a
regular basls also people [usL noL Laklng care of Lhemselves puLLlng work before needs and such
Pooray for Ally! 1ry worklng ln l1 for a blL Lhen make a relevanL commenL lm guesslng you never boreass your
spouse wlLh work deLalls? no need Lo venL because youre [usL LhaL happy? 8ullshlL

March 20 2010 301 AM
Mlchele S sald
CreaL posL! Cood polnLs and some greaL Llps l Lry Lo follow Lhe recommendaLlon of geLLlng up every hour or Lwo for
a walk Some do a llLLle exerclse llke wall pushups or runnlng sLalrs durlng Lhe day

Ally you need Lo make some changes or you wlll lose connecLlon wlLh your chlldren and husband ?ou are a prlme
candldaLe for burnouL or dlvorce

March 20 2010 304 AM
kamlhacker sald
Pl !al

l have someLhlng Lo add LhaL has been sorL of helpful ln Lhe lasL 6 monLhs for me learnlng and developlng a hobby
could work lf you cannoL have blg breaks (l own parL of a company and we donL allow ourselves LhaL klnd of long
breaks)

My currenL hobby ls phoLography whlch one can Lake as serlously as you wlsh Lhere are some oLher acLlvlLles llke
gardenlng playlng a parLlcular sporL bulldlng models baslcally anyLhlng LhaL requlres paLlence and concenLraLlon
away from Lhe compuLer

l have Lo confess l spend some addlLlonal Llme on Lhe C edlLlng lmages posLlng Lhem on Lhe web and commenLlng
oLhers people work as well buL lLs also someLhlng you can share wlLh frlends and be proud of (even prlnL Lhem and
frame Lhem!) lnsLead of [usL creaLlng pleces of code or Lhlngs LhaL you cannoL Louch feel or show Lo oLhers wlLh
prlde

!usL my Lwo cenLs for you and your readers

8egards and have a nlce one

March 20 2010 313 AM
!ake sald
As l slL here aL my desk and prepare Lo do some l1 work l can only noLlce how relevanL your posL lL Loo my slLuaLlon
rlghL now MenLal exhausLlon has already seL ln for Loday and Lhere are so many planned pro[ecLs ahead for Loday
and lLs sLlll only 930am lL seems llke Lhe only Lhlng l wanL Lo do when l geL home ls leL my braln harden because Lo
focus any more of my energy seems llke lLs [usL asklng Loo much
As for Ally
eople musL really haLe you aL work ?ou seem llke one of Lhose obllvlous bosss who has no ldea of your
surroundlngs Also slnce you are a Cbllvlous sLore owner you do noL know l1 leL alone Lhe sLandards ln facL ln Lhe
slmplesL and saddesL way your [usL a sLore clerk So l guess aL Lhe end of Lhe day you donL know whaL menLal
exhausLlon ls or wlll ever be because your braln wlll never sLreLch LhaL far

March 20 2010 331 AM
La Luz sald
Awesome !! Awesome !! Awesome arLlclel was slLLlng here codlng my llfe away when my wlfe sends Lhls over Lo
me?eah lm Laklng a 2 hour lunch afLer readlng Lhls

March 20 2010 332 AM
8avl klran sald
CreaL posL Wlll Lry Lhe napplng Lechnlque
And Mlss Ally you have no ldea whaL Lhls guy ls Lalklng abouL ?ou sound llke a smug blLch

March 20 2010 338 AM
loaded236 sald
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March 20 2010 410 AM
Cnllne sald
Pey Ally WlLhouL us l1 guys you wouldnL be maklng LhaL 200k your bragglng abouL S1lu

March 20 2010 437 AM
! sald
lm an l1 guy (well gal) and Lheres noL a week LhaL goes by LhaL l donL aL some polnL muLLer l haLe compuLers
8uL l Lruly love my [ob lve hlL Lhe burnouL Lhlng more Lhan once buL forLunaLely my poslLlon ls varled enough LhaL l
can swap someLhlng Lhlnkee for someLhlng arLee or vlce versa lL helps LhaL l work wlLh a falrly small group LhaL has
no ldea whaL my [ob ls abouL so Lhey leave me alone Lo do lL l have Lhe good forLune Lo be able Lo creaLe my own
pro[ecLs and deadllnes so LhaL helps enormously

lm a slngle mom and someLlmes l work 40 hours ln Lhe offlce and anoLher 20 aL home ln any glven week My house
lsnL spoLless buL l chalk LhaL up less Lo my work and more Lo Lhe facL LhaL l [usL really donL care LhaL much abouL
spoLless SomeLlmes ld raLher play WoW Lhan clean lL happens SomeLlmes when Lhlngs are slow aL Lhe offlce l goof
off and no one really cares as long as all Lhe sysLems are up and funcLlonal Lhe web slLe looks good and everyones
emall ls worklng l Lhlnk lLs a preLLy good Lradeoff

March 20 2010 310 AM
preeLsy sald
1hls posL has been removed by a blog admlnlsLraLor
March 20 2010 310 AM
shlny73 sald
1hls posL has been removed by a blog admlnlsLraLor
March 20 2010 349 AM
!al sald
1hanks for all Lhe poslLlve feedback l had a llLLle feedback suggesLlng lm [usL whlnlng abouL my [ob buL acLually l
love my [ob now LhaL lve worked ouL how Lo manage some of Lhe hldden dangers lm cerLalnly noL comparlng Lhls
[ob Lo oLhers l Lhlnk ever [ob has lLs own drawbacks buL lm noL quallfled Lo commenL on oLher professlons

Also lm sorry lf l deleLed your good commenL sLlll learnlng Lhe blogger lnLerface )

March 20 2010 743 AM
8ecky sald
So llke lve always sald you arenL alone

MenLal exhausLlon
A nurse ls requlred Lo answer quesLlons ln regard Lo MedlcaLlons drug lnLeracLlons slde effecLs wheLher or noL Lx ls
rlghL for Lhem posslble ouLcomes pos and neg 1hls all has Lo be done aL Lhe same Llme as recalllng oLher drs as well
as pLs and Laklng care of Lhe ones ln fronL of you 1here ls no one Lask aL a Llme you beLLer be glvlng one a shoL
whlle your xrays are comlng ouL of Lhe processor Are Lhls pLs labs ok ? no we need Lo change Lhe meds and so on
and so forLh

PealLh lssues
So aslde from Lhe obvlous of deallng wlLh slck and crabby people all day Lhey lnslsL on coughlng dlrecLly aL you or
handlng you Lhelr speclmens ln bare hands LeLs noL forgeL Lhe amounL of sLrengLh lL Lakes Lo physlcally move a pL
from chalr Lo bed or elsewhere resulLlng ln loLs of sore muscle and noLhlng less Lhan sheer faLlgue aL Lhe end of
every day

lrlends?
lL lsnL enough Lo Lake care of Lhe pL whlle kllllng yourself ?ou wlll sLlll be blamed and yelled aL for every upseL on
Lhelr mlraculous paLh Lo 23 agaln (never mlnd Lhe 200 pack years of smoklng) 1hls doesnL work why donL l feel
beLLer l donL need LhaL lm noL as slck as Lhose people

Llfe dralnlng
?es Lhere ls always anoLher call LhaLs an emergency l know LhaL lve been shorL of breaLh for 2 monLhs buL now (Lhls
second) you have Lo help melLs lrlday aL 430 now your ready

SLress
Ch yes Lhere ls sLress lf Lhls dldnL sLress you ouL already donL worry Lhey wlll WheLher lLs anoLher dr demandlng
clearance for surgery or a pharmacy Lelllng you Lo call Lhe lnsurance company and hold for an hour [usL Lo flnd ouL
LhaL Lhe pharmacy doesnL know how Lo blll properly All of Lhls golng on whlle you are puLLlng a puzzle LogeLher
wlLh only half Lhe pleces 1he leasL Lhe pL could do ls Lake some lnlLlaLlve Lo help Lhemselves feel beLLer buL why qulL
now? 1heyve goL you Lo Lake care of Lhem

So ln closlng yes all [obs are more Lhan Lhey seem unLll you have walked ln Lhe shoes donL bellLLle Llke was sLaLed
earller ln a commenL Lo Lhls blog some of us donL have Lhe llberLy of napplng afLer work or even golng home
because yes Lhen Lhere ls parenLhood andd all Lhe glory LhaL comes wlLhsporLlng evenLs and pracLlce Lhe
occaslonal dr vlslL and leLs noL forgeL Lhe consLanL Lask of feedlng Lhem (l am only famlllar wlLh boys and l say agaln
ConsLanL) and keeplng up wlLh Lhe chores noL all of Lhem [usL Lhose LhaL are absoluLe necesslLy Lo geL Lhrough Lhe
week So yes l answer you wlLh SuCk l1 u!! Work ls hard deal wlLh lL or llke you sald change [obs

lf Lhe momenLs LhaL make you feel good abouL whaL you do are so few and far beLween lLs a slgn l love my [ob yes
lLs hard yes lLs exhausLlng yes lLs sLressful buL l chose Lhls and yes lL ls worLh lL Lo me


1o Lhe world you may be [usL one person
8uL Lo one person you may be Lhe world
Show quoLed LexL

March 20 2010 831 AM
8ahnuma Sandra Abedln sald
CreaL arLlclenow from a WCMAnS polnL of vlewand belng an l1 person l need Lo say someLhlng abouL Allys
commenL ?our posL ls lnLeresLlng as lL seems Lo suggesL LhaL only whlnlng men do l1 [obsummmmnC u cannoL
compare l1 Lo belng a sLore owner or whaLever lL ls you do ALL moms have Lo come home and clean and cook eLc as
do a loL of dads as well 1he facL LhaL you felL Lhe need Lo Lell Lhe world how much you make ls [usL sad?ou are Lhe
one who wanLs Lo whlne and venL buL [usL canL do lL Lo Lhe rlghL person !!!

March 20 2010 243 M
???? sald
Pl !al

l musL say LhaL you have preclsely enllsLed everyLhlng LhaL we worklng ln l1 musL be aware of

And your lasL commenL ls also Lrue
every [ob has lLs own drawbacks

Companles keep on glvlng us Lhe work llfe balance crap along wlLh arLlflclal deadllnes and we generally end up
worklng laLe all Lhe Llme So escalaLlon and knowlng your llmlLs ls also lmporLanL

Pavlng sald LhaL Lrylng Lo lmprove your knowledge ls also lmp! 1haL can save overLlme many a Llmes 8uL we musL
seL some llmlLs Lo how much sLress we can bare and musL sLop once LhaL level ls reached

We musL have some LoLally non l1 llkes/ lnLeresLs where we can absoluLely dlsconnecL from our work Lhlngs for a
few hours every week 1haL sure does recharge us menLally

l came across Lhls sLaLemenL Lhe oLher day
uonL sLress yourself for someone Llses dream (noL appllcable Lo every pro[ecL l undersLand and wlLh due respecL
Lo ureams! 1alklng abouL unreallsLlc pro[ecLs seL up only from Lhe caplLallsL polnL of vlew)

ln Lhe end We shouldnL forgeL
lL [usL Cne Llfe! 1hls ls lL!

WlLh 8esL 8gds
Mayur

March 20 2010 238 M
[esLer02k sald
l was a fleld servlce Lech ln Lhe Lech lndusLry a loL of laLe nlghLs and bad food
lL caughL up wlLh me ln uecember serlous heaL aLLack l am only 41 recovery has been slow a loL of damage CeL ouL
of Lhe chalr and walk slmple Lask

March 20 2010 302 M