No, I'm not suicidal. Thanks for stating that, as I'm sure some might be in that situation.
I'm just experienced in a different kind of burnout than what the OP was talking about. And it's a kind of burnout that a number of developers experience at some level after some number of years, but frequently not the sort that you find on HN. I've tried to fix via sleep, exercise, losing weight, etc. and that surely helps but it doesn't fix it. In addition, placing power and trust in the employee definitely helps in that case, as a lot of what drives it is a mix of poor health due to lack of sleep which there are fixes for, lack of ability to concentrate, and weight/fitness, but an important component is out of the control of the employee: the developer/IT employee notices that we all seem to fuss about things that in the end don't really matter, because all code is thrown away, all implementations are replaced, and there is nothing left standing of what is created, and in the end we would seem better off and the nation more employed if that technology weren't distracting everyone. However, activism is not the answer. Technology is inevitable. So you want to become a landscaper, a bartender, or anything to get over that feeling, but you know you can't provide for your family if you do that, so you have the privilege of suffering in a job you hate, knowing that you are spoiled for complaining about a job that pays well. You can't even feel good about complaining.
I've also experienced the other kind of burnout which is what developers usually mean, which is burning the candle at both ends to meet demands you didn't set at work and could not influence even though you tried diligently to, so you have a period of lack of motivation or effectiveness. The result of that for me was that I never want to work for a startup again, because you can get sucked into the idea and the promise- the hope- later to realize that they are desperate and do not care about your family. That is what the OP's post is about, and they are framing it like it can be solved by the employer. Perhaps.
I'm just experienced in a different kind of burnout than what the OP was talking about. And it's a kind of burnout that a number of developers experience at some level after some number of years, but frequently not the sort that you find on HN. I've tried to fix via sleep, exercise, losing weight, etc. and that surely helps but it doesn't fix it. In addition, placing power and trust in the employee definitely helps in that case, as a lot of what drives it is a mix of poor health due to lack of sleep which there are fixes for, lack of ability to concentrate, and weight/fitness, but an important component is out of the control of the employee: the developer/IT employee notices that we all seem to fuss about things that in the end don't really matter, because all code is thrown away, all implementations are replaced, and there is nothing left standing of what is created, and in the end we would seem better off and the nation more employed if that technology weren't distracting everyone. However, activism is not the answer. Technology is inevitable. So you want to become a landscaper, a bartender, or anything to get over that feeling, but you know you can't provide for your family if you do that, so you have the privilege of suffering in a job you hate, knowing that you are spoiled for complaining about a job that pays well. You can't even feel good about complaining.
I've also experienced the other kind of burnout which is what developers usually mean, which is burning the candle at both ends to meet demands you didn't set at work and could not influence even though you tried diligently to, so you have a period of lack of motivation or effectiveness. The result of that for me was that I never want to work for a startup again, because you can get sucked into the idea and the promise- the hope- later to realize that they are desperate and do not care about your family. That is what the OP's post is about, and they are framing it like it can be solved by the employer. Perhaps.