Just a bit ago I read an article about the CEO of Norway's Oil trust fund. He said.that while he won't comment on work life balance, Americans are just more ambitious than Europeans. But I wonder, can we really separate the two? Or is what he reads as ambition and hard work really the desperation to insulate ourselves against future calamity because we have no social safety net? Given the opportunity, how many of us would gladly trade our 'ambition' and our burnout for their 28 days of paid vacation each year?
The wisest thing I ever learned in accounting was the seminar instructor who told us that it was up to us to figure out our tolerance level and set our boundaries with our employers, because they were never going to do it for us. Not everyone has that freedom, I know, but the more of us who stand up and say 'enough' the more they are forced to heed.
There are cultural values around work and class mobility that differ. Europe still values blue blood and nobility. US was built on puritan work ethic and loves a bootstrap story of rags to riches. Everyone in the US believes they can play the odds and get ahead and the economy is built that class mobility is easier than Europe because there is no social safety net and we have more disposable income and higher wages. In Europe it’s much harder to jump up in class or buy land when it’s usually passed down, they also don’t value consumerism, consumption, customer service the same way. So a worker will take long breaks, have their coffee and cig and talk to their friends. Food and rent are cheaper but that same worker in US has to run and say customer is always right. Not cus she is ambitious because she has to and she maybe is miserable and thinks she can get the F out of there.
I love this, AND... the general public is missing out on an excellent resource for guidance on burnout because this culture ignores, denies, and belittles the every day lived experience of Autistic people. We've been intimately acquainted with burnout our whole lives (that is perhaps one reason why our unemployment rate is 80-85%, even though many of us would love to be employed, but can't survive in the standard US work environment).
The most crucial advice I would offer is this: burnout happens whenever a person is compelled to function "productively" in an environment that overloads their sensory capacity to self-regulate. For Autistics, and many other types of neurodivergent folks, that happens just by trying to exist in this world as it has been constructed for us, without our inclusion or input. For the rest of you, privileged by your neurotypineurotypical wiring, it happens for the reasons so eloquently described in this article. Now: the solution is a bit trickier. While some of what has been suggested here is definitely true (in part, for some people), there are only a very small handful of universal or near-universal solutions, and none of them are available to everyone who needs them, and most of them come at considerable cost to anyone who uses them. Any solution offered that will help some, could easily further harm others. So please, everyone, be mindful, compassionate, and empathetic in your declarations about what "we" need to recover from burnout, especially if you don't want to perpetuate the devastating harm that has historically been done to neurodivergent folks by adopting sweeping generalizations about what us, or should be, necessary for us to live sustainably. Especially wintrasocial interaction and use of technology are concerned, what helps some will cause further harm to others. It takes some effort, but please be curious, if you can, about what works for you, and don't assume the same will be equally helpful for everybody else. Thank you.
It's a testament to your commitment that you are returning at all! I can't even imagine what kind of hell it must have been to be a health care worker during the pandemic. 🙏
I was working in civil society at a nonprofit supporting migrants and refugees. Many left during Trump. I left over a year ago. Hoping in a couple years I can return. Let’s see how this election goes.
I’m sorry, civil Society and the current sovereign of the United States of America are mutually exclusive. There might be tiny microcosms of it but it cannot be used correctly as a generality. There’s nothing civil about society in ‘Murikkka. The masses are shallow, crass, uneducated, unmannered, unread, unraveled jackasses. They shouldn’t be allowed out of doors without adult supervision.
Great post and excellent clarity in describing your feelings. Everything you've stated is a direct result of technology & it's rapid advancement. These last 25 years has warped this nation and it's people. I'm old enough to know a world where people were community and none of these issues existed. It wasn't that long ago. Even the corporate goblins are ghouls weren't this empowered. The advancement of cell phones to the degree they've become, the introduction of ear buds to isolate each other into false mini-me worlds... and now artificial intelligence to dumb you down, take your job and possibly kill you. (I'm thinking of these AI drones being used now on innocent people) Sure it's very easy to be burnt out and worse. The solution is to dump the tech. Totally stop as a nation (good luck) and reclaim our country. Tech should be a tool for the user, much like a calculator or address book. The mental health of adults with little to no tech knowledge is superior to the average person. I'm not a technology hater, actually I use technology daily and find enjoyment. It's how you use it. Unfortunately younger generations don't know what that means. It's been their entire lives like this and it's sad. No one thinks about starting a movement for technology awareness and lifestyle changes... Sounds stupid and foolish but think about it. FOMO isn't going to happen because you're already missing out on life because of it.
I could be wrong, but aren't you just advocating for technological literacy?
Which is a thing that was explicitly removed from education (and defunded if it was still around) by older generations who then went on to profit from said younger generations?
It's not the kids using tiktok or Instagram that are running those companies, designing the ad/engagment algorithms, and defunding education after all.
Excellent point ☝️ thanks. You're bringing up a very important aspect of this problem and that being the older generation ( how old I'm not sure in this instance) exploiting the situation. The older generation has definitely exploited more than technological literacy.
Thank you for this. How many cold plunges, saunas, blue light blockers, prayer, or hours of meditation will it take for us to realize that our natural state of being is a calm and relaxed nervous system, with all of our basic humans needs being met. I think our society is purposely structured like this. When you have a human population burnt out, overworked, underpaid, and “busy,” they are much easy to control, and manipulate. The exhaustion and decision fatigue breaks the human spirit. It does not allow ingenuity, creativity, art, or spiritual phenomena to manifest as our brains are numbed out, eyeballs on fire from the computer screen, and well, voices shut down because standing up for our human health rights to “freedom and happiness” could mean losing our jobs and main source of income that puts food on our table, outcasting us as unhirable by the late stage capitalistic, profit hungry elite. There will be a tipping point for humanity- and hopefully soon- where we wake up to the realization that the society we have created and live in is not sustainable for optimal human life. We are not depressed. We are not anxious. We are not exhausted. We are living in environments that make us so- with no escape or way out, other than to push through and hopefully climb the corporate ladder, achieve the American dream, and make more money at the expense of our mental and physical health. Unless, we ORGANIZE. Unless, we lead a revolution. Unless, we allow art to be made and our creative expression to thrive and we rebel and stop posting, scrolling, consuming, repeat. Social media companies should be prosecuted like the tobacco industry. We are beginning to see this w the ban on TikTok, and the rise of the concerned parental movement from the book, “Anxious Generaton.” The phrase “cost of living” should radicalize us all. Why should it cost money to be alive?
Definitely a shared feeling, especially for the people who take it on as their job to analyze, process, and inform others. Thank you for the work you do!
Imagine how people like Michael Mann, Bill McKibbin and anyone who is fully informed on the coming climate catastrophe feel? I suppose you can’t if you don’t understand the entire dynamic. That will change….
Bingo, Joshua, you nailed it ! You've explained exactly how I've been feeling for the last 10 years and I'm glad I'm not alone. This whole MAGA movement is a sickness that needs to be studied and put into the Medical Journals to diagnose patients who suffer symptoms can be treated and cared for. They should call it "trump" syndrome. Thank You for your article this morning ☕ and will reStack ASAP 💯👍🇺🇸💙🌊
Enabled by the blue tribe which simply offers something that is slightly less shitty than really really really really shitty. Well I’m here to tell you, that’s still pretty damn shitty.
I feel you. I’ve been fighting this battle since Carter/Reagan. What a mistake. The worst emotionally investment I’ve ever made. Keeping in full disclosure, that’s a fucking high bar.
I’m disappointed that my efforts were in vain but I’m incensed that they were heretofore unrecognized as undeserved. Obviously, I’m not the smartest guy in the room.
Just a bit ago I read an article about the CEO of Norway's Oil trust fund. He said.that while he won't comment on work life balance, Americans are just more ambitious than Europeans. But I wonder, can we really separate the two? Or is what he reads as ambition and hard work really the desperation to insulate ourselves against future calamity because we have no social safety net? Given the opportunity, how many of us would gladly trade our 'ambition' and our burnout for their 28 days of paid vacation each year?
The wisest thing I ever learned in accounting was the seminar instructor who told us that it was up to us to figure out our tolerance level and set our boundaries with our employers, because they were never going to do it for us. Not everyone has that freedom, I know, but the more of us who stand up and say 'enough' the more they are forced to heed.
There are cultural values around work and class mobility that differ. Europe still values blue blood and nobility. US was built on puritan work ethic and loves a bootstrap story of rags to riches. Everyone in the US believes they can play the odds and get ahead and the economy is built that class mobility is easier than Europe because there is no social safety net and we have more disposable income and higher wages. In Europe it’s much harder to jump up in class or buy land when it’s usually passed down, they also don’t value consumerism, consumption, customer service the same way. So a worker will take long breaks, have their coffee and cig and talk to their friends. Food and rent are cheaper but that same worker in US has to run and say customer is always right. Not cus she is ambitious because she has to and she maybe is miserable and thinks she can get the F out of there.
In other words, we’re fucking idiots. Clueless rubes. That’s the culture here. Your understanding of either society is rather poor.
You’re tossing pearls to pigs here.
I love this, AND... the general public is missing out on an excellent resource for guidance on burnout because this culture ignores, denies, and belittles the every day lived experience of Autistic people. We've been intimately acquainted with burnout our whole lives (that is perhaps one reason why our unemployment rate is 80-85%, even though many of us would love to be employed, but can't survive in the standard US work environment).
The most crucial advice I would offer is this: burnout happens whenever a person is compelled to function "productively" in an environment that overloads their sensory capacity to self-regulate. For Autistics, and many other types of neurodivergent folks, that happens just by trying to exist in this world as it has been constructed for us, without our inclusion or input. For the rest of you, privileged by your neurotypineurotypical wiring, it happens for the reasons so eloquently described in this article. Now: the solution is a bit trickier. While some of what has been suggested here is definitely true (in part, for some people), there are only a very small handful of universal or near-universal solutions, and none of them are available to everyone who needs them, and most of them come at considerable cost to anyone who uses them. Any solution offered that will help some, could easily further harm others. So please, everyone, be mindful, compassionate, and empathetic in your declarations about what "we" need to recover from burnout, especially if you don't want to perpetuate the devastating harm that has historically been done to neurodivergent folks by adopting sweeping generalizations about what us, or should be, necessary for us to live sustainably. Especially wintrasocial interaction and use of technology are concerned, what helps some will cause further harm to others. It takes some effort, but please be curious, if you can, about what works for you, and don't assume the same will be equally helpful for everybody else. Thank you.
I was a nurse during the pandemic and left in 2021, im only now recovered and strong enough to return to the field
It's a testament to your commitment that you are returning at all! I can't even imagine what kind of hell it must have been to be a health care worker during the pandemic. 🙏
I was working in civil society at a nonprofit supporting migrants and refugees. Many left during Trump. I left over a year ago. Hoping in a couple years I can return. Let’s see how this election goes.
I’m sorry, civil Society and the current sovereign of the United States of America are mutually exclusive. There might be tiny microcosms of it but it cannot be used correctly as a generality. There’s nothing civil about society in ‘Murikkka. The masses are shallow, crass, uneducated, unmannered, unread, unraveled jackasses. They shouldn’t be allowed out of doors without adult supervision.
Thanks for writing this and clarifying my thinking about the individual vs. collective dimensions of burnout.
Great post and excellent clarity in describing your feelings. Everything you've stated is a direct result of technology & it's rapid advancement. These last 25 years has warped this nation and it's people. I'm old enough to know a world where people were community and none of these issues existed. It wasn't that long ago. Even the corporate goblins are ghouls weren't this empowered. The advancement of cell phones to the degree they've become, the introduction of ear buds to isolate each other into false mini-me worlds... and now artificial intelligence to dumb you down, take your job and possibly kill you. (I'm thinking of these AI drones being used now on innocent people) Sure it's very easy to be burnt out and worse. The solution is to dump the tech. Totally stop as a nation (good luck) and reclaim our country. Tech should be a tool for the user, much like a calculator or address book. The mental health of adults with little to no tech knowledge is superior to the average person. I'm not a technology hater, actually I use technology daily and find enjoyment. It's how you use it. Unfortunately younger generations don't know what that means. It's been their entire lives like this and it's sad. No one thinks about starting a movement for technology awareness and lifestyle changes... Sounds stupid and foolish but think about it. FOMO isn't going to happen because you're already missing out on life because of it.
I could be wrong, but aren't you just advocating for technological literacy?
Which is a thing that was explicitly removed from education (and defunded if it was still around) by older generations who then went on to profit from said younger generations?
It's not the kids using tiktok or Instagram that are running those companies, designing the ad/engagment algorithms, and defunding education after all.
Excellent point ☝️ thanks. You're bringing up a very important aspect of this problem and that being the older generation ( how old I'm not sure in this instance) exploiting the situation. The older generation has definitely exploited more than technological literacy.
No it’s not about technology. It’s all about stupidity. Our standard adult existence in this ship of fools.
Thank you for this. How many cold plunges, saunas, blue light blockers, prayer, or hours of meditation will it take for us to realize that our natural state of being is a calm and relaxed nervous system, with all of our basic humans needs being met. I think our society is purposely structured like this. When you have a human population burnt out, overworked, underpaid, and “busy,” they are much easy to control, and manipulate. The exhaustion and decision fatigue breaks the human spirit. It does not allow ingenuity, creativity, art, or spiritual phenomena to manifest as our brains are numbed out, eyeballs on fire from the computer screen, and well, voices shut down because standing up for our human health rights to “freedom and happiness” could mean losing our jobs and main source of income that puts food on our table, outcasting us as unhirable by the late stage capitalistic, profit hungry elite. There will be a tipping point for humanity- and hopefully soon- where we wake up to the realization that the society we have created and live in is not sustainable for optimal human life. We are not depressed. We are not anxious. We are not exhausted. We are living in environments that make us so- with no escape or way out, other than to push through and hopefully climb the corporate ladder, achieve the American dream, and make more money at the expense of our mental and physical health. Unless, we ORGANIZE. Unless, we lead a revolution. Unless, we allow art to be made and our creative expression to thrive and we rebel and stop posting, scrolling, consuming, repeat. Social media companies should be prosecuted like the tobacco industry. We are beginning to see this w the ban on TikTok, and the rise of the concerned parental movement from the book, “Anxious Generaton.” The phrase “cost of living” should radicalize us all. Why should it cost money to be alive?
Just watched a video essay from Philosophy Tube on the same topic: https://youtu.be/4F9QzXjUB10?si=Q6QDO-hu9qanvT6u
Definitely a shared feeling, especially for the people who take it on as their job to analyze, process, and inform others. Thank you for the work you do!
Imagine how people like Michael Mann, Bill McKibbin and anyone who is fully informed on the coming climate catastrophe feel? I suppose you can’t if you don’t understand the entire dynamic. That will change….
Bingo, Joshua, you nailed it ! You've explained exactly how I've been feeling for the last 10 years and I'm glad I'm not alone. This whole MAGA movement is a sickness that needs to be studied and put into the Medical Journals to diagnose patients who suffer symptoms can be treated and cared for. They should call it "trump" syndrome. Thank You for your article this morning ☕ and will reStack ASAP 💯👍🇺🇸💙🌊
Enabled by the blue tribe which simply offers something that is slightly less shitty than really really really really shitty. Well I’m here to tell you, that’s still pretty damn shitty.
As they say in AA:
“ At first, it is fun, then it is fun with consequences, and then there are just consequences”
Same holds for digital addiction
I feel you. I’ve been fighting this battle since Carter/Reagan. What a mistake. The worst emotionally investment I’ve ever made. Keeping in full disclosure, that’s a fucking high bar.
I’m disappointed that my efforts were in vain but I’m incensed that they were heretofore unrecognized as undeserved. Obviously, I’m not the smartest guy in the room.
Your neon slogan makes me want to work even less. Congrats!
Key to our world today ..." It’s helped me see how some people grow more and more antagonistic and confrontational on these platforms, pursing a hit."
Relatable
Thank you so much for this essay and the insights and clarity it provides. I really appreciate it.
God the timing of this is painfully perfect - thanks Joshua
“The cost of living squeezes from one direction, the need to work squeezes us from another.” Call me your pressure release valve.