Professional burnout in IT (results of the research "My Circle")

In October last year, "My Circle" was invited to the RIF Voronezh to make a report on professional burnout among IT professionals. As always, we approached thoroughly, conducted a survey on this topic among users of “My Circle” and “Habra” and today we are happy to share our research. Let's see how IT professionals are subject to burnout, what signs distinguish it, what reasons they indicate, how they leave it.

Most of the questions of the questionnaire were based on the materials of the master class of Natalia Dzeruzhinskaya, doctor of medical sciences, professor, psychiatrist of the highest qualification category, conducted by her in the framework of the Stratoplan School of Managers ( videos of 5 master classes of the school ).

Before diving into the diagrams and their interpretation, let us say at once why it is important to know as much as possible about professional burnout, to be able not to fall into it and not let others do it.

As we learned, more than 50% of IT professionals have experience of professional burnout, and half of them went through this experience 2 or more times. For an employer, such a burnout of employees has quite serious consequences: up to 20% of employees are regularly in a similar condition, only 25% of burnouts remain at the same place of work. So, quite a large part of the staff works extremely inefficiently and prevents others, plus constantly need to invest in recruiting and adapting new employees to replace burned out ones. If an employer learns how to manage a burnout process, then he can save a lot of material and moral strength for his company.

What is professional burnout

To begin, remember the definition of professional burnout. We gave the same definition to everyone who began to pass our survey in order to ask subsequent questions based on this common understanding.

Professional burnout (eng. Burnout) - a complete or partial loss of efficiency in the workplace due to increasing emotional and then physical exhaustion. It is manifested by increasing indifference to their duties and what is happening at work, the growth of negativism towards both clients and colleagues, a sense of their own professional failure , dissatisfaction with work.

According to psychologists, professional burnout works like a psychological defense that takes the body into an energy saving mode, whose resources are depleted to adapt to permanent stressful situations.

Who participated in the survey

About 2500 people took part in the survey, according to socio-demographic characteristics, approximately the same as in our previous studies: 50% are developers, 80% are men, 80% are aged 21 to 35 years, 25% are from Moscow.

Professional burnout experience

To begin with, we learned how much professional burnout experience is common among IT professionals. In order to get a more accurate picture, in the question we clarified how strong the burnout was: was there a weekend or a holiday enough to get out of this state, or didn’t even have a holiday?

We assumed that professional burnout, about which psychotherapists speak, we will consider only that experience, in which even leave was not enough to restore our strength. And in all subsequent diagrams, we call such a state a strong burnout and conduct analytics only for those respondents who have noted this experience.

Has professional burnout happened to you personally?

It turned out to be a rather serious figure: more than 50% of the respondents had experience of strong lightening, and this figure for women exceeds 60%.

If we divide the respondents by age, then we see a more serious picture. In respondents aged 25–40 years, the experience of strong ignition occurs in 50–60% of men, and in 70% of women.

How serious are these numbers? To answer this question, it will be right to compare the IT industry with other areas of human activity. As we learned from the Dzeruzhinskaya master class , according to 2009, the following specialists are most prone to burnout: women teachers are 71% of them have similar experience, then surgical nurses go next - 60%, then social workers - 55%.

As you can see, women from the IT industry may, in terms of burnout rate, "argue" with such traditional emotionally heavy industries as pedagogy and medicine!

Has a strong professional burnout happened to you personally, that even a vacation was not enough?

Let's look further, what are the most common factors affecting the frequency of professional burnout. We asked the following question: at the time of your strongest burnout, how many years did you work in this company, what kind of activity and type of ownership was this company in, what city did you live in and how old were you then.

Since these questions were asked only to those who had at least some experience of burnout, we measure the frequency of severe burnout not among all respondents, but only among those who had such experience (among 75%). Therefore, do not look at the absolute figures of burnout, and compare them with each other.

Among all those who had burnout experience, 70% experienced severe burnout.

The longer a specialist works in the same company, the more likely he is to burn out much. It can be seen that the turning point occurs in the second year of work.

The frequency of severe burnout is almost independent of the company's business. Those who work in consulting companies have a higher chance of fading.

Most often burn out in private companies, less often in state and their businesses, least of all those who are engaged in freelance burn out.

In Moscow and St. Petersburg burn out more often than in other cities of Russia.

When we analyzed the burnout frequency depending on the current specialization, we saw that in different specializations there is a different age composition. For example, in management, the average age is 31 years, and in game development it is 26 years. But, as we saw earlier, the burnout frequency strongly depends on age: a person who has lived more has a higher chance of facing burnout. Therefore, when calculating the burnout frequency depending on the specialization, we took answers only from a narrow age group of 25 to 35 years to remove the influence of age and leave only the influence of the specialty itself.

And got the following picture. The most risky burnout specialization in IT is sales, management and marketing. And the least risky ones are Eychar, technical support and mobile development.

How many times have you had a strong professional burnout?

And how often does a strong lightening happen for those who have noticed a similar experience? It turned out that almost half of this experience was not a one-time, but was repeated two or more times.

What ended your attempts to exit from the state of severe professional burnout?

The most important question from the point of view of the employer, and what is the risk of employees getting into a situation of professional burnout?

From the survey, we learned that 18% of respondents are currently in a state of severe burnout, which means they work very inefficiently (they are indifferent to their duties, negatively disposed towards colleagues and clients, they feel they are not fit)
But the most unpleasant thing is that of those who went through the experience of a strong burnout, only 25% kept their previous jobs (among women, even less - only 18%). This means that the employer was forced to spend the resources of his company to replace such employees with new ones.

Young people under the age of 20 are much more likely to retain a job in the event of severe burnout, for other ages the likelihood of maintaining a job is about the same. The exception is the age of 31-35 years: during this period of life the probability of saving a place of work is somewhat lower.

At the age of 36-40 years, the type of activity also changes more often than other ages in case of loss of work as a result of burnout.

The most risky job-loss specialization is marketing and analytics: none of the respondents kept their place of work in these specializations after their severe burning out. Then there are sales and technical support: only about every tenth retains a job in these specializations. A curious observation: after burning out in sales, in more than half of the cases, not only change jobs, but also change the type of activity itself.

More often than others, they keep their jobs in mobile development: almost 30%.

Professional burnout with colleagues

The problems of professional burnout are not limited to inefficient work and dismissal of burned-out employees. If someone burns out nearby, this also affects the overall efficiency of labor. Half of the respondents stated that they had observed professional burnout with colleagues. Every third noted that the burnout of a colleague prevented him from working.

Signs of burnout

How to recognize that you or your colleague are close to professional burnout and take measures in time to avoid being in it? Let's talk further about the signs of professional burnout, they are all divided into 5 groups:

Physiological;
Emotional;
Intellectual;
Behavioral;
Social.

Which of the following physiological signs did you observe in your burnout state?

The main physiological symptom of a strong burnout is a constant feeling of fatigue and exhaustion: almost all respondents who have experienced severe burnout in their life have named it. Following are sleep disturbances, headaches, decreased sexual activity and changes in appetite: these symptoms were called from one third to one half of the respondents.

The diagram clearly shows how much more painful women experience the moment of burning out, they have much more often than men almost all the physiological symptoms listed.

Which of the following emotional signs did you observe in your burnout state?

The main emotional symptom of a strong burnout is the loss of motivation and indifference: it was also called by almost all respondents with a strong burnout. Following are dissatisfaction and disappointment in oneself, an increase in boredom and apathy, a sense of unfulfilled debt, irritability and aggressiveness, a feeling of helplessness: more than half of the respondents named these signs.

Again, we see that women experience burnout much more sensitively: 60-80% of women who survive burnout indicate all of the listed signs.

Which of the following smart features have you observed in your burnout state?

The main intellectual sign of a strong burnout is problems with concentration of attention and memory, inability to concentrate and make decisions: it was called by 80% of respondents with strong burnout. Following are a decrease in interest in new ideas and alternative approaches, a constant return to the same thought: 40-50% of respondents named these signs.

Intellectual signs of burnout do not make a big difference between men and women.

Which of the following behavioral signs did you observe in your burnout state?

The main behavioral signs of severe burnout are the desire for rest during work, the formal execution of work and the long achievement of goals: these signs were named by more than 70% of respondents. Further, there are violations of the working mode, an increase in the number of errors, a feeling of lack of time, a sense of hyper-responsibility, a negative attitude towards professional perspectives: from one third to half of the respondents named these signs.

In women, only half of the signs are indicated noticeably more often than in men.

Which of the following social traits did you observe in your burnout state?

The main social signs of severe burnout are a decrease in social activity and a loss of interest in leisure: these signs called two thirds of the respondents. Next come the distancing from colleagues, an increase in conflicts, a sense of isolation and a lack of support from friends and relatives: from a third to half of the respondents named these signs.

In women, all signs are indicated somewhat more often than in men.

Let us summarize the intermediate results and list the main signs of professional burnout that occur in the overwhelming majority of people:

Physiology : constant feeling of fatigue and exhaustion, sleep disturbances, headaches.
Emotions : loss of motivation and indifference, discontent and frustration in oneself and others, increasing boredom and apathy.
Intellect : problems with concentration and memory, inability to concentrate and make decisions.
Behavior : the desire to rest while working, the formal execution of work, the long achievement of goals.
Sociality : reduction of social activity and loss of interest in leisure.

Women are experiencing a state of burnout noticeably stronger than men, especially by physiological and emotional symptoms. Perhaps this can explain why women as a whole burn out more than men (63% vs. 53%).

Causes of burnout

It is known that in order to overcome a disease, it is necessary to treat not its symptoms, but its causes. Let's see, and what leads to the state of professional burnout? All reasons can be divided into 3 groups:

Chronic emotional activity;
Destabilizing organization of activity;
Problems of professional growth and working conditions.

What do you think, what emotional tensions led you to a state of burnout?

The psychologically difficult contingent, the uncontrollability and intensity of communication are most often called the emotional causes of professional burnout: from one third to one half of the respondents indicate these reasons.

Women are a little more likely than men to name all of the above reasons and are noticeably more sensitive to the intensity of communication.

It is curious to see what emotional reasons are called more often than others in different IT specialties. We see that in sales and Euchar, the intensity of communication comes to the top position, in content and marketing - the uncontrollability of communication, and in mobile and game development - interpersonal conflicts.

What do you think, what destabilizers of activity led you to a state of burnout?

Most often, organizational reasons for professional burnout call unclear task setting, ambiguity in the distribution of responsibilities and the lack of concerted actions: from half to two thirds of respondents indicate these reasons.

Women are almost no different from men in the frequency of naming of certain reasons. But it is clear that they are noticeably more sensitive to excessive workload and less sensitive to routine activities.

If you look at individual specializations, then sales, Euchar and content come to the fore in organizational reasons for the lack of concerted actions, in management, marketing and mobile development - an ambiguous distribution of responsibility, in testing - monotony of work, in game development - an excessive amount of work.

What do you think, what problems in working conditions led you to a state of burnout?

Most often in working conditions, the reasons for professional burnout are called insufficient psychological and material incentives for work: more than half of the respondents indicate these reasons. There is a lack of time for rest, disagreement with the values of the organization, insufficient support from management, high expectations from the results of their activities: from one third to one half of respondents name these reasons.

It can be seen that women are much more sensitive than men to psychological encouragement and support from the management and a little less sensitive to disagreement with the values of the organization.

With a view to individual specializations, we see that in administration, Euchar and technical support, the most acute problem is the material underestimation of the contribution of employees; in marketing, design, content and management - there is an acute issue of support from management, in mobile development, the future results of their activities are more often overestimated.

Let's summarize the following intermediate result and enumerate the main causes of professional burnout that occur in the overwhelming majority of people:

Emotional causes : psychologically difficult contingent, uncontrollability and intensity of communication.
Organizational reasons : unclear statement of tasks, uncertainty of distribution of responsibility and lack of coordinated actions.
The causes of working conditions : insufficient psychological and material incentives for work (psychological is a little more important than material).

Women are noticeably more sensitive than men to the intensity of communication, to excessive workload, psychological encouragement and support from management, and less sensitive to routine activities and disagreement with the values of the organization.

In various IT specializations, the relative importance of the causes leading to burnout is somewhat different and is directly related to the specifics of work practices.

Exit from professional burnout

Finally, we will find out how IT specialists are going out of the fire-burning state, which steps are taken, which of them are the most popular, and which are the most effective. Who can help us out of the emotional crisis:

We can help ourselves;
Acquaintances;
Employer;
Specialists.

Who helped you cope with the state of severe professional burnout?

Любой психотерапевт вам скажет, что помочь себе можешь только ты сам: тебя могут направить, подсказать, мотивировать, но конкретные шаги ты всегда делаешь самостоятельно, никто за тебя их сделать не сможет. Результаты нашего опроса подтверждают эту аксиому: почти все отметили, что пытались справляться самостоятельно. Более половины также указали, что им помогали знакомые, каждый шестой отметил помощь со стороны работодателя или специалистов.

Женщины больше полагаются на внешнюю поддержку и заметно чаще прибегают к помощи знакомых и специалистов, по сравнению с мужчинами.

Но чья помощь оказывалась, в итоге, лучше? Если за успех принять сохранение рабочего места после сильного выгорания, то видим следующую любопытную картину. У тех, кто после выгорания сохранил место работы, минимум в 2 раза выше доля отметивших, что им помогал работодатель, немного выше доля отметивших помощь специалистов, и чуть меньше доля отметивших помощь знакомых.

Как именно вы занимались собой, выходя из состояния сильного профессионального выгорания?

Самый частый способ по самостоятельному выходу из состояния сильного выгорания — нормализация режима сна и отдыха: более половины респондентов указали, что использовали именно это. Очень любопытно, что для женщин таким же по частоте использования способом выступает психологическая саморегуляция, это очень сильно отличает их от мужчин.

Далее, для обоих полов следует гуляние на свежем воздухе, саморазвитие, нормализация питания, саморегуляция, занятия хобби, спорт: от трети до половины респондентов использовали такие способы. Как видно, женщины более склонны к психологическим и социальным способам и менее склонны к физическим, по сравнению с мужчинами.

Каким именно хобби вы занялись, выходя из состояние профессионального выгорания?

Интересно было узнать, а какими именно хобби увлекись те, кто выходил из состояние профвыгорания. Оказалось, что чаще всего ИТ-специалисты начинают заниматься музыкой. Дальше по частоте идут спорт, ремесло и рукоделие, рисование, активный отдых и… о ужас, опять программирование!

Кто именно из знакомых вам помогал выйти из состояния сильного профессионального выгорания?

Из тех, кто отметил помощь знакомых, большинство обращаются к своим любимым: две трети респондентов отметили это. Также довольно большая доля, почти половина, обращается за помощью к друзьям. Между женщинами и мужчинами нет значимой разницы, когда они решают проблему выгорания с помощью своих знакомых.

Кто именно из специалистов вам помогал выйти из состояния сильного профессионального выгорания?

Из тех, кто отметил помощь специалистов, большинство обращается к психологам: две трети отметили это. При обращении к специалистам женщины чаще предпочитают психологическую помощь и реже медицинскую или тренерскую, по сравнению с мужчинами.

Что предпринял работодатель, чтобы помочь вам выйти из состояния выгорания?

Среди тех, кто отметил помощь работодателя, чаще других называют лучшее распределение ответственности и разруливание конфликтов: каждый третий указал на эти способы. Далее следует рационализация режима труда и работа с командным духом. Все остальные способы представлены крайне редко, менее 10%.

В принципе, отмеченные чаще других действия со стороны работодателя перекликаются с основными организационными дестабилизаторами, приводящими к выгоранию, как мы уже видели выше.

Подведём последний итог и перечислим основные способы выхода из профессионального выгорания, к которым прибегают чаще других:

Самопомощь : нормализация режима сна и отдыха, психологическая саморегуляция (особенно для женщин), гуляние на свежем воздухе, саморазвитие, нормализация питания, занятия хобби (музыка, рисование, ремесло и рукоделие, активный отдых, спорт).
Помощь знакомых : обращайтесь к вашей второй половине и друзьям.
Помощь работодателя : лучше распределите ответственность, рационализируйте режим труда, работайте над повыщением командного духа и разруливайте конфликты.

Выходя из выгорания, женщины более склонны заниматься своей психикой, а мужчины своим телом.

Если работодатель хочет уменьшить вероятность потери своих сотрудников, он должен уметь искоренять причины выгорания, улучшая организацию и условия труда. Если выгорание всё же произошло, он должен постараться помочь своему сотруднику, ведь чаще сохраняют свое место работы те выгоревшие, которые не только занимаются собой сами, но и получают помощь от работодателя.

Минимальная помощь со стороны работодателя, на наш взгляд, состоит уже просто в том, что он будет просвещать своих сотрудников о возможности подобных негативных явлений. Чтобы в критический момент сотрудник смог понять, что с ним происходит, и не боялся своевременно обратиться за помощью как к работодателю, так и к психологу.

Следи за собой, будь осторожен.