I wonder how much burnout is exacerbated by the fact that projects never actually end in this business?
You never truly finish something. If you think you did, you are quickly disabused of that notion. You are lucky to ever feel that sense of pride in completion, and if you do, it is brief.
Pride in a job well done is fleeting, if you are ever allowed to feel it at all.
Yes, I'm a recovering victim of burnout, and no, this was not the only cause, but sometimes I wonder...
What did it for me wasn't the fact that the project had no end in sight,
It was the fact that every time I made an effort to move towards that point, the boss would pull in a dickhead architect (let's call him Huy) who would then veto my entire roadmap.
This happened many times, each time I felt more and more worthless; by the time I eventually left Bravura I was suicidal.
Someone else shat the bed on the first project I worked on for the company.
He blamed me, so for the next four years took every opportunity to had to fuck me over regardless of what I was trying to get done.
I once had to get through six weeks of work in a month (what need for testing?), because he told me last minute about major vital changes that were needed in the next release with zero advanced warning.
This was in addition to my standard workload.
After I somehow managed to pull it off, he then informed me that the changes weren't that important and weren't required for the release.
You never truly finish something. If you think you did, you are quickly disabused of that notion. You are lucky to ever feel that sense of pride in completion, and if you do, it is brief.
Pride in a job well done is fleeting, if you are ever allowed to feel it at all.
Yes, I'm a recovering victim of burnout, and no, this was not the only cause, but sometimes I wonder...