In the last 24 hours I attended an awesome Meetup which talked about Burnout for people working in tech, and I also read an interesting article about a strange symptom of Ageism, which itself another very significant problem in tech. Both Burnout and Ageism are huge issues which are holding the tech industry back, and combating them offers plenty of opportunity to improve technology companies themselves and the wider world by committing to inclusivity.
The very interesting and important meetup I was at yesterday is called No Hoodies Required, and I had the chance to interview founder Andrea Corrie about the meetup and general inclusivity in tech here. I highly recommend for anyone in tech to check out No Hoodies Required and attend the next meeting (Wed 2/19).
The main topic last night, a discussion led by James Spivey from Shutterstock, was Burnout in tech. Many, if not most, people in technology have experienced burnout at some point in their career. According to the Mayo Clinic,
“Job burnout is a special type of work-related stress- a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity.”
There are scientifically proven, cold hard facts showing that burnout results in lower quality work output, and a huge increase in healthcare costs. Per James Spivey’s presentation, Burnout costs between $125-190 BILLION each year in healthcare costs, costs employers in the form of disengaged employees performing poorly, and is a primary driver of employee turnover.
While Burnout is certainly a symptom of working too many hours, at its root it is also a problem resulting from companies forcing employees to conform to existing workaholism rather than an inclusive environment. Inclusivity and Conformity sound similar, but are really complete opposites - companies should want to include engineers who have a family they want to see each evening rather than force him for her to conform to existing policies of working 70-90 hours every other week to force a release out as scheduled.
Another interesting and related tidbit that Andrea mentioned is that companies should hire for cultural contribution, not cultural fit. Take advantage of unique perspectives and don’t force every employee into the same box - it will build a team with wider view points to create products that a wider base of customers want to use.
As a group, again led by James, we discussed ways to prevent burnout at tech companies, including celebrating contributions from all team members so they feel valued, fostering a collaborative environment where employees depend on and create with each other, and provide plenty of opportunity for employees to grow in terms of career path and knowledge. If you learn something new every day, it’s a lot easier to find positive meaning in your work. The best way to avoid Burnout is by having a culture where people truly enjoy their work, which really starts with an inclusive environment where every person feels comfortable and welcome.
Now to the Botox segment! There was a Washington Post article going viral today titled “In Silicon Valley, some men say cosmetic procedures are essential to a career".” I figured it would be a somewhat funny article, but it turned out to be a pretty tragic story about ageism in technology, which again is the result of a lack of inclusivity. The article talks about a rapidly growing trend in Silicon Valley of middle aged, and sometimes even younger, men who are getting plastic surgery and Botox because they feel it’s necessary to appear younger to be successful in the industry.
The general trend is that 35 year olds are ‘over the hill’ in the tech world, and out of touch with the latest technology. People who are older have literally lived more life and experienced more things, and rather than using that as an advantage in knowledge, people feel the need to appear as young as possible. While this article focused on men, presumedly because it is more well known that women also take these steps to appear younger, age discrimination affects women more across the board. Ageism is a big problem regardless of gender.
Both Burnout and Ageism are caused by a lack of inclusivity. There is tremendous potential overall if we can increase inclusivity. When women, minorities, and people of all ages, genders, sexual orientations and sizes feel more comfortable working tech it will be more appealing for all people to enter the industry and reduce the ‘Pipeline Problem"‘. The flip side of this same coin is also a benefit in the form of increased productivity of companies by having a more engaged workforce with a wider range of viewpoints and ideas.
I plan to continue writing blogs about the idea of making tech more inclusive. The potential benefits are enormous, and the more good ideas we share the better off we all will be. There is no advantage to a lack of inclusivity, and for the most part the problem is not intentional. So, the more we can all share ideas to increase inclusivity in the technology industry the quicker we can create environments where everyone feels comfortable and excited about the opportunity to work in tech.
What else can we do to make all people feel more welcome at tech (and all) companies? What other ideas are there to reduce Burnout? Please leave comments here, on social media, or email (kevin@code-talent.com), and if you are in the Denver area check out next month’s No Hoodies Required meetup!