We're burned out. Here's why.

[@itsacomment5991]

At 1:35 a nit to pick. Depersonalization refers to a sense of detachment from self, body, or surroundings. Depersonalization is not cynicism. I haven't read Santos's work, but, I am a clinical psychologist. What I picked up from some quick googling is that Santos says depersonalization OR cynicism develops, with the word "or" in this case meaning one or the other, not meaning that depersonalization is just another way to say cynicism.

[@_jared]

I appreciate that clarification! EDIT: This is an important enough error that I'm pinning the comment. I should always doublecheck terminology, and I didn't do that this time.

[@GeneralChangFromDanang]

Definitely two different things. Depersonalization is scary if you don't realize what's happening. The few times I've had it, it was kind of an out of body experience where I forgot who or what I was or where I was. I think I was able to pinpoint the underlying cause but it took a lot of work.

[@insyteCounseling]

@@_jared You handled that so well, thank you for great modeling! And thank you itsacomment for researching your post of clarification.

[@lawrup]

@@_jared but being idle doesn't it mean that doing nothing and seeing a child being kidnapped and dissapere without a trace was something that you couldn't avoid

[@georgelionon9050]

Seeing taking criticism and acknowledging it, is an instant subscribe from me.

[@andywinter2496]

The fear of stopping for a second in America is real. Stop working for a weeks vacation? Well now you are a week behind... and dude.. catch up or you're fired. Oh and also Rents due.

[@DoomSausage1]

Sounds terrible. I could never work a salary job.

[@tarrasacid1612]

Statutory paid leave 👍

[@Ψυχήμίασμα]

I'm burned out because by 7am there's already 100+ company emails in my inbox with folks all crying that the sky is falling, and by the time I deal with all the issues that are brought up, half the day is over and I finally am able to start intensive, focus, real, WORK. Which lasts until the sun goes down. Then, it repeats. Day after day. And I'm not even American. I just work for an American corporation....lol

[@HalfJapMarine]

Keeping people in survival mode. It is a method of dehumanization

[@righteousmammon9011]

@@Ψυχήμίασμα the over emailing is crazy. I am American and I have a good benefits package. I get 6 weeks vacation. But your email comment really resonated with me. It’s insane to keep up with

[@wellyano6964]

Upward mobility is gone. Working hard to own a house, afford to have children or retire is not guaranteed anymore. Even if your job is meaningful, what’s the point?

[@BillLaBrie]

Upward mobility is a lie. So you’re going to sacrifice for a better TV, a better phone, a better car? Go on vacations with canned experiences where you stare at screens in different locations while surrounded by a-holes doing the same thing? You seek advancement in a career where you’ll get a title and more money but still be surrounded by non-friends, and still ultimately be treated like hourly help? When a questionable global health event happens, you better not question it or you lose all that phony stuff you’ve sacrificed so much to achieve. We’re at the point where the only thing significant enough to motivate most of us is mere survival.

[@pureceeparis]

I worked for years without opportunities for upward mobility. That didn't not frustrate me, but rather it was (and still can be) the unequal opportunities granted to some whether it be because of race, gender or even nepotism. Its tribalism in any format that really can drain away your drive in my view.

[@AudaciousBean]

​@@kewalbajaj837you have a _house?_ You have *_kids?_* Effing 'litist looking down on the rest of us peons 😒

[@Xanthelei]

​@kewalbajaj837 Our ancestors also lived in extremely small, tight-knit communities that are effectively impossible in today's world if you're anywhere near a large city. And by large I mean over 50k population. We also live longer, can talk to someone on the other side of the planet as if they were right next to us, and rather routinely send things into space. Trying to appeal back to "our ancestors" like this is a logical fallacy that completely ignores the MASSIVE ways the world has changed since anyone at all lived in caves.

[@kenthompson5723]

@@BillLaBrie So you’re going to sacrifice for a better TV, a better phone, a better car? ----------------------------------------------------------------- listen to Ray Stevens song "Mr. Businessman", from 1968 ... over fifty years ago.

[@DarkHorse-bp3xf]

"It isn't negativity, it's excess positivity that makes us feel burnt out." This struck me. In the last few months I've been trying to embrace the concept of doing nothing - or very little. Even in retirement, I have stayed on the hamster wheel. I've come to the realization that just cutting my busyness in half is so much healthier. Thank you for your thoughtful and thought-provoking channel.

[@wombatillo]

Toxic positivity and delusional optimism are real and highly damaging in my opinion.

[@annjames1837]

That's why God told us the rest

[@kenthompson5723]

yup. The old >>> "power of positive thinking", "think and grow rich", you must have a positive attitude", bla bla blah.

[@Ahamshep]

Living with chronic illness I feel ya. EVERYONE thinks being positive or exited about things will cure the incurable. Yet it just makes ya withdraw from society to not experience this pain causing crap.

[@NickleyArt]

persevering through something that's not working for you with positivity keeps you stuck going the wrong way. The universe is trying to tell you that you need to change something

[@hayleys-c3u]

Money is the reason. People aren't paid fairly, everything costs ten time what it's worth, and people see no hope for the future to be better.

[@Eric-ej3oy]

Money isnt the reason. This one woman works in a country dinner and shes happy with her life and been doing it for over 35 yrs.

[@PrometheanGOld4]

@@Eric-ej3oy Not everyone has been working at a country diner for over 35 years. Terribly acute pool of information.

[@Warren-ec8oo]

@@PrometheanGOld4 it’s modern slavery stop sugar coating it aMErika we are a weak divided corrupt hypocritical society and a nation of lies. Now mask up close only small businesses and obey getting experimental shots lmfao so pathetic it’s hilarious to me lmfao

[@iROChakri]

You can buy from China, cheap and good but eh! We're gonna put tariffs to make everything more expensive hahah!

[@North-D]

​@@Eric-ej3oy a lot of those small town people who work simple, underpaid jobs all their lives are able to do it because of significant financial help, usually from family

[@BlueRutherford]

I work in big tech, and in our anonymous employee survey about the company’s performance, there’s a free form question at the end for sharing any issues. I kept my response brief, writing just two words: “forced enthusiasm.” To me, this is the biggest problem, driving burnout and the growing number of colleagues on medical leave. There is an unspoken expectation for employees to suppress genuine emotions, project an artificial sense of excitement, and constantly appear upbeat. Pretending to be enthusiastic becomes a survival mechanism, driven by fear of professional consequences. The disconnect between how we feel and what we’re forced to display is deeply exhausting on every level. This is made even worse by the passive aggressive and intensely competitive culture, where every interaction feels like a test and everyone is fighting to prove their worth. On top of that, most of our work ends up shelved or scrapped, leaving us feeling like all the effort was for nothing. It’s draining and unsustainable.

[@justinedse8435]

@BlueRutherford Holy christ on a cracker! I've worked in the software industry for 10 years and F this! It's bullshit, especially companies and corporations. They don't appreciate anything.

[@Awholeadult]

Tech worker here as well. You have summed up what caused my burnout 4 months ago. Surveyed out because my company insists on sending surveys monthly but will not change any of the issues raised. New initiatives every 6 months and lots of abandoned work that people slaved away on😢

[@kenthompson5723]

"I work in big tech ...' -------------------------------- Oh gawd!! You have my deepest sympathy. How many layoffs has your CEO dictated in the last year or two?

[@easportssucks4347]

Office culture is death. Literally the opposite of how humans are meant to live and interact.

[@t.h.8475]

Forced comraderyship as well. Team building activities. ☹️ An annual all staff meeting that lasts an entire day.

[@bridgetsmith9352]

I experienced this working in hotels. It was the same thing day in and day out and it all felt so pointless. I answered the same questions over and over and over and performed the same meaningless tasks. I was so burned out after nearly five years that I ended up getting very sick. I was unable to work for about seven months, but it was the best thing that ever happened to me. When I was well enough to go back to work, I decided to change careers and become a librarian! It was something I always wanted to do. Now, six years later, I'm working on my Master's in Library Science and actually looking forward to the future.

[@lolaWWEWWFpunk]

I'm thinking of becoming a librarian myself. But I don't know....

[@cypressoaks]

@@lolaWWEWWFpunksame here! Wondering if this is a sign to go for it

[@bunuelesquee]

Glad you’re doing better!

[@_kaleido]

@@cypressoaks we're all just thinking of becoming librarians huh😂

[@krisstargazer]

Librarians are heroes! 💪📚

[@JayTX.]

Overstimulated, desensitized, reality shattering realizations = disassociation, depression, sense of dread and uncertainty, existential crisis We're the middle children of history, dealing with being from the old world and facing the new one they're shoving on us , not hard to understand why the homesteading movement has grown, people want to return to simplicity, something real they can recognize.

[@jaceboi8627]

I wholeheartedly agree with this.

[@AnalogVlogs]

This explanation was intensely accurate. 🙌🏼

[@davidallison5204]

Yeah but if you’re not working hard making a billionaire richer, how can your life have any meaning? 😂🤦‍♀️

[@MadMalkavian]

​@@Goenzelsen well in that case-where are you from?

[@nickthompson1812]

Traditions are experiments that worked. Some groups on the country are very concerned with destroying every tradition that made America what it was.

[@stoddard1953]

The world is so screwed up it's not even funny. All people talk about is work, work, work. No time off. No breaks. No hobbies. Just work.

[@myself2noone]

The average work day has gone down over time.

[@dreamstever]

@@myself2noonetrue, but average productivity has also skyrocketed. But who reaps the reward…?

[@arielgoldfarb4118]

Its more like an american problem. In many countrys people dont live just to work.

[@HalfJapMarine]

We were systematically dehumanized

[@Ekam-Sat]

Be quiet slave and work.

[@AllOfOurLives]

6:14 I’ve been the most “productive” and the least burned out at jobs where I’m free to complain and be negative. It’s so much easier to do unpleasant tasks when you have the ability to bond with others over how much it sucks. You complain, you laugh together, and you get it done, feeling a sense of belonging and community. In jobs where I had to remain positive, I never lasted more than a few years. The tasks are tedious or difficult, and everyone around you is acting like it’s amazing or no big deal. It’s incredibly isolating, like there’s something wrong with you.

[@Awholeadult]

Nailed it right on the head for me. Toxic positivity and optimism are killing me at my current job

[@kenthompson5723]

I’m free to complain and be negative. It’s so much easier to do unpleasant tasks when you have the ability to bond with others over how much it sucks. ---------------------------------------------------------- Be careful with that approach. If you're in private industry you may have a CEO who is quietly looking over your shoulder.

[@Tommyleini]

💯. Also just a personal thing but listening to happy music especially with positive lyrics just makes my mood worse if I'm in a bad mood. But can totally enjoy positive sounding negative lyrics music like Hard Times by Paramore. Always helps me

[@TheHappySensitive]

💯Staying brutally honest is so key.

[@AllOfOurLives]

@@kenthompson5723 Public sector with a union job, luckily! :)

[@EricKolotyluk]

Excellent message. Years ago I was diagnosed with depression, and spent years on antidepressants, with no benefit. Now I realized I was not depresses, but dealing with burnout and C-PTSD.

[@johenderson3742]

Sad childhood = sad adult.

[@kenthompson5723]

dealing with burnout and C-PTSD. ------------------------------------------------------- PTSD ... you mean post technology stress disorder?

[@MelW669]

Same. I spent 30 plus years of my life not understanding what was going on with me. Cue a divorce from a highly narcissistic man who made it his mission to make me miserable for daring to stand up for myself, being in therapy and learning about CPTSD, and I had a totally new framework for my life and understanding why it’s been so difficult. Now I’m still burned out as a single mom with little to no support because I’ve had to reevaluate the people I had chosen to be close with. I’m exhausted all day every day.

[@ElliBeenie]

@@MelW669 my heart goes out to you 😢 being a single parent is already immensely tough without the burnout and ptsd. I wish you all the best and happy holidays / merry Christmas.

[@MelW669]

@ElliBeenie thank you. This was a kind message to read. I really appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful Christmastime. ❤️

[@izcanbeguscott2]

i think the part about hobbies needing to be productive, or that you have to be productive in your “unproductive” hobbies, hits the nail on the head. we are so tuned to one type of relationship to our world that we forgot what hobbies were supposed to even exist for.

[@benjamingeorge8241]

You can see all the toxicity on places like Twitter with people trying to find dirt on and issues with every single person or opinion. If they had hobbies maybe they wouldn’t engage as much in such destructive behavior.

[@growtocycle6992]

The issue is how you define "productive", 'success' and "value"

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Award-winning author here. I wish I could explain to everyone reading this comment just how frustrating the NUMBER ONE QUESTION people ask me about is. They don't ask about storytelling, dramatic structure, character arcs (and their personalities), the video teasers I crafted and recorded V.O. for, nor do they ask about the 350+ illustrations, cover designs, website, original music, nor even my 30+ years of experience in production, etc. But... so... can YOU guess what they ask about? :/ Go on. Give it a shot. I dare ya. I quadruple dare ya.

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

@@benjamingeorge8241 Precisely. The sheer amount of "instantaneous stalkers" I ended up with over 2019-2024 for posting SINGULAR online comments--respectful, intelligent ones--has been utterly ridiculous. Since when does another human feel the need to turn into a psycho over one or two typed sentences?!? Like, seriously... are you CRAZY?! You can't divine a thing about someone's entire existence, ethics, and their persona over ONE bloody comment on the internet. That's actually beyond insta-judgemental and ""witch-hunting-esque". Very Orwellian, too--especially when more popular, wealthier, well-known social media morons go after those who DON'T have "followings". All they have to do is tell their little digital dolts to report, troll, cajole, mock, and block someone, and that's it; the algorithms do the rest. It's embarrassing.

[@sparrowt4082]

Especially in a world where people "monetize" what they love. People can't even play a videogame without recording it. Or go on vacation without vlogging.

[@The813874]

I work as a driver at UPS because I was hesitant to pursue anything else after college. However, working 12 to 13-hour days, six days a week, has made me realize that I want to live my life now, rather than just working for the possibility of enjoying it later.

[@martinholmes-ue9ko]

Why did you pay to go to "college" and then become a van driver? And why should anyone care?

[@The813874]

I went to improve myself, and I’m glad I did. Whether or not you care about this isn't my concern. As long as someone relates to it, that’s enough for me. If you don’t connect with it, that’s perfectly fine.

[@tman9142]

@@martinholmes-ue9ko smh ANOTHER NECK BEARD JOINED THE CHAT. You obviously cared enough to comment, a lot of people pay to go to college and never get a chance in their desired field. But you should know that cause you seem to know everything

[@Hermit_of_the_Holler]

9yrs ago .. I sold everything....moved to a cabin ( I designed and built) in the woods. But it was just a different distraction. My burnout is societal, not work. Engaging with people day in and day out was my issue. Not the work it was just all the horrible people. 😔

[@nickthompson1812]

@@martinholmes-ue9ko entry level jobs don’t pay anywhere near enough to be worth the time. I make more as a restaurant manager than I would as an entry level tax analyst or working underneath a financial advisor.

[@SimplyMayaB1994]

I've been burnt out for the majority of my time as a PhD student - just over two years. This year I went through a huge personal crisis that affected my whole family and led to being almost violently disillusioned by certain aspects of academia. Then, a few months ago, I was diagnosed with cancer. So my burnout was the result of a lot of what you said in this video alongside these fairly dire circumstances (plus ADHD). I've been forced to completely pause however much forward momentum I still had and reframe my relationship to my project, and how it would fit into a vision of a career that would allow me to do something genuinely meaningful - shocker, my dreams changed after doing that. It also forced me to stop and evaluate the true source of my sense of self even when completely unable to be productive. It's been very sobering. I still want to finish my PhD, but my true purpose for that has completely changed. I have hope that post chemo, this will help me get back on the horse and finally feel equipped to handle such a massive undertaking.

[@SuperMutantSomething]

You're been going through a really tough time. Best of luck to you going forward!

[@hanswoast7]

That sounds tough. Best of luck and farewell!

[@sazdean7233]

Gabor mate

[@bananaloaf7]

I hope you recover soon!

[@spacegirl226]

I hope your treatment goes well. All the best to you.

[@ilovetruffles99]

I worked at a gas station chain for 7 years and I was depressed, stressed, anxious, lonely, and overweight. When I switched jobs to education, I felt a LOT better because I was affecting young people’s lives. My mental health was SOARING, and now it’s diving again because education pays shit, so I’ve taken on a second job. The second job is retail, and I hate it. Not because the job is hard, but because emotionally I can’t. My coworkers want relationships, my customers want to tell their story, people want me to laugh. I’d rather do something mindless after work because emotionally? Burnt out.

[@erikhilsinger9421]

taskrabbit

[@freespirit-111]

I work in education also. The free time i get during the summer, spring break, winter break gives me some semblance of a life. I’m lucky because my husband pays the majority of the bills. Nonetheless, i plan to sit in my yard, listen to the birds, stare into space and do nothing during the Christmas holidays.

[@Tregarz]

@@freespirit-111If only OP lived that kinda life, but it sounds more like youre bragging..

[@vidaus-ir-lauko-durys]

You're just spoiled. People want to talk to you, but you hate these people. You'll always be depressed until you stop being arrogant and proud.

[@Tregarz]

@@vidaus-ir-lauko-durys Can you not?

[@austinmoe4865]

As a side hobby, I've been learning how to draw because it's a skill I've always admired and I love visual art. But when I showed my mom some of my sketches and my progress, she asked, "Oh, so you're learning this to use it for your career?", and that left me bothered and I couldn't figure out why. Thanks to this video, I realize now that I started learning how to draw simply because I liked art and I wanted to give it a try for its own sake, and not for the sake of any productivity down the line. What bothered me about my mom's question was it held the expectation that every skill needs to be productive, when that's just not the case and I don't want it to be the case.

[@stevechrisman3185]

your Mom is wrong; you are right ! Enjoy your art - do it for yourself.

[@steved1135]

Great analysis. To push on these ideas a bit further, towards explaining the acceleration of burnout in the past 20 years, versus the slow climb from the 50's, I think they key is, as you mentioned, the third component, ineffectiveness. We were, in the 'western' socio-economic setting told what turns out to be a lie: work hard and you'll be rewarded. We all swallowed this blue pill, and for some time it worked. But those who control and perpetuate the lie got greedier and greedier, ever diminishing our rewards, whilst demanding more. Eventually, people either started to break, or came to the realization that we were lied to, having much the same result. Burnout is a natural response, but it's a symptom. A symptom to an environment that's become hostile to continued existence...

[@vidaus-ir-lauko-durys]

you just misunderstood the word "work hard". it means to love your job with all your heart. then your career goes uphill fast and you get paid a lot because you are the best and irreplaceable.

[@steved1135]

@@vidaus-ir-lauko-durys Nah. Our system isn't a meritocracy like that.

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Work isn't the only place where burnout occurs. For millions, they're sick of buying useless crap, sick of inflation and never catching up no matter what they do, sick of toxic relationships, tired of all the daily promotions shoved in their faces upon EVERY waking moment, and exhausted from the complex technologies which were *supposed* to make things better for humanity, but instead, cell phones and logins and laptops just make everything twelve times more difficult. :/ It's both bloody silly and embarrassing.

[@Lb-jm6wi]

Then don’t buy useless crap.

[@MadMalkavian]

Well I guess burnout is inevitable when you live in a dystopian society

[@lamMeTV]

People really need to learn the difference between a job - where you trade life time for money - and work - anything, paid or otherwise, that contributes towards an overarching goal. I am working on a game, on a painting, on a scarf. Of course its a spectrum but that system has helped me tremendously.

[@n4ughty_knight]

@@lamMeTV I don't blame them. They've been told their whole lives that they're supposed to pursuit happiness. That means you have to work with what you like, not with what makes you money. So, of course, a lot of people are going to burn out once they discover that life isn't like that.

[@fviannaval]

So, don’t buy useless crap. How difficult is it?

[@Landshark583]

My burnout is rooted in knowing that I will never make enough to own anything worth working for, such as a home.

[@michaelbrooks7896]

Owning a house can suck the life out of you too, but your point is well taken. I think that our inflationary fiat currency system contributes to burnout and hopelessness, but I am also hopeful that bitcoin (BTC) will address our exploitative monetary and banking system injustices in the intermediate and long-term.

[@kenthompson5723]

I will never make enough to own anything worth working for, such as a home. ---------------------------------------------------- That's not your fault. It's society's fixated greed and its use of extreme capitalism to satisfy that greed.

[@huayang2467]

Thank you. I am your twin.

[@libertywest5835]

Same!

[@winsie_w-m6l]

I'll tell you this owning a home is not what it's all cracked up to be! Basically owning a home creates a new problem for you because anything and I mean anything can go wrong and you have to fix it, replace it, repair it, insure it, etc etc

[@edwins.9609]

I was in a leadership position in a private top 10 fortune company. One of my good friends passed away when working there due to cancer. No one said anything except a few of us but management was quietly hiring someone for her position as she was going through chemo. When she did pass no one in management said anything. I saw my friend die in a trailer at a park. I was so angry that she devoted her life to her work and to see our job not do anything to help hurt me to the core. I will never be loyal to a company again.

[@nolalove7054]

Sadly, it's just a job and we're just a number.

[@ShotgunWizard]

Seen a similar scenario at a previous job… it’s disgusting really. I despise corporate culture for all of this.

[@birdieg3614]

04:30 Household feels like that. The dust always comes back, no matter what I do ... A job you can change, but household stays, no matter what job you have. That to me is much more depressing than any job. And we have been taught that our home and garden must always look nice, the neighbors expect it, so we work after hours as well and on the weekends to be a "useful" member of the society. I have stopped cleaning regularly and pulling each little weed out of my garden (My neighbors were pissed in the beginning about my wild garden and complained a lot but their expectations have decreased. They still don't like me for it but accepted it and just keep quiet about it.). Instead I clean up the house according to need, either because it feels dirty or because guests are coming. But people have to announce their visits in advance which I prefer, anyway. For me it works fine, I actually can use my free time now to think, read and explore the universe which feels much better. And I actually do enjoy the weeds and especially the insects and tiny animals they attract. My garden is full of life since I have it wilder. We have very much distanced ourselves from nature and I personally think that's a major aspect of why we feel useless. We actually complain about gardens which have natural life in it, instead we prefer lifeless lawns and non-local flowers which our local nature cannot even use. We clean our houses no matter if they are dirty or not, we just want to appear perfect in case somebody might come by. For the same reason we appear to be busy at work, not because there is urgent work to do but to display our relevance for the company. We don't do what's needed but we over-produce and throw away, we pretend to be important although we are not, we clean where it is not dirty, we prepare for situations which don't happen, we erase life from our living spaces, ... The work we do at work and at home is indeed often useless, it makes US useless in some aspects, and it really ruins us, not only mentally. Allergies are on the rise since we clean like maniacs even though we don't need to, our wild life is dying out because we consume much more space than we need, we build and buy stuff to throw it away and destroy the environment, we consume stuff we don't really need which makes us overweight or sick. We have built a society which is completely decoupled from nature and that makes us sick as well as our environment. We would be a lot healthier, physiologically and psychologically, if we started to approach our own and our surrounding nature again and reduced our work and activity to what is really needed to live and which doesn't harm nature. We need each other, nature and us, because we are after all natural beings. Yet, we have designed a society/economy which cannot exist based on basic needs but which requires useless growth, useless consumption and useless work and which degrades us to useless members of this society. I'm an engineer and I like technology, don't get me wrong, but I see the uselessness of a lot of products and services we offer and consume. We could and should reduce our doing to what we really need and enjoy and not just produce to let the economy grow endlessly, an economy which doesn't even offer many of us to fulfill our basic needs such as food and an affordable shelter while some company owners have become wealthier and more powerful than whole nations.

[@stevechrisman3185]

Well said and almost exactly my situation too.

[@ThePolaroid669]

What? Who cares? How is this relevant to this video? Although am glad I'll never have to go into your house.

[@titovalasques]

I could seriously hug you right now! I’ve wasted 25 years of my life working in retail (a job where you get shafted from both management as well as customers while being acutely aware of its direct correlation with the demise of the planet) only to reach total collapse from anxiety and panic attacks last year and on the verge of suicide. I spent this year trying to mend mentally while attempting to pinpoint a problem I thought was a lot more obscure. Knowing that it is indeed burnout legitimised my pain and made me realise I’m not alone. THANK YOU!!!

[@sfbsfb]

Retail is just a tough grind. When I was 30, I paused my office-worker career, and “served” couple of years in retail. That experience certainly made me more empathetic towards retail and restaurant workers. And service sector workers generally. I think you are very strong, just for being able to endure it for as long as you have.

[@BobOort]

Looks like you love the piano. Start practicing. You also look like being either Filipino or Mexican, in which case I recommend you study classical guitar and learn to play South American music and one day it'll make you some money while enjoying what you love doing. Salud.

[@annjames1837]

Find a church to connect with. It will lighten your spirit. That's what's missing today.

[@CTimmerman]

Third places don't have to involve cults, but fortunately most people let go of the alphabet-unfriendly verses.

[@Brett.D]

​@annjames1837 Find Jesus...a church is just a club in most cases...

[@sapientmay6269]

I think it’s important to know where the BS and monotony come from. I’m a middle manager at a nonprofit… worked my way up from frontline staff. We work with youth, and I know the work is meaningful and beneficial to society. But there is so much red tape! There are more and more requirements placed on us every year, and I try so hard to keep it off my team’s plates. More certifications and policies. Which means there’s more steps and more information to report. More systems to track more information. More two-step logins for those systems. More checks and balances for systems. More steps to pay for the systems. More monotonous BS jobs to take on all the work the systems created. In my field, it all boils down to financial risk and insurance. Not even risk management for the youth we serve… the red tape comes from keeping funding and keeping insurance.

[@WMDistraction]

I’m a teacher and feel similar. Student misbehavior is at an all time high, and yet the ability to actually respond to it meaningfully is so cumbersome that I just throw up my hands and pretend I’m doing something about it. Grading isn’t meaningful cuz a bad grade shouldn’t be given unless it’s heavily documented (which is a ton of pointless bullshit paperwork), so hey, you did literally anything, here’s something that isn’t an F! Kids don’t care, and that is apparently undocumentable. I love my principal, genuinely, but he gave me feedback that I should let students “turn and talk,” and I felt professionally I couldn’t lean in and go, “About what?” Cuz they’re never in a million years gonna talk about what I tell them to! And he knows how unmotivated my (and everyone’s) students are! I’ve tried “turn and talk,” and it’s just me watching my students talk about bullshit for 3-5 minutes. But I can’t say it out loud! Teaching is supposed to be one of those “inherently meaningful” jobs, but politics and policy has devalued the profession so much that I can’t really make a meaningful difference. I’m supposed to be some miracle worker *for* children who magically improves them instead of a person who works *with* children to help them realize their own worth and potential.

[@sherylmccrary9045]

Much of what you describe applies to many for-profit industries as well, particularly the part about more systems of reporting and record and processes that add work overhead but no customer benefit or improved efficiency.

[@Thorned_Rose]

The red tape is making getting more volunteers harder when it's already hard because everyone is so overworked and lacking in spare time - no one wants to fill out the paperwork and do the admin. It's boring AF and most people already have to deal with boring AF work in their day to day jobs - why would they want more of that and no get paid to boot?!

[@sherylmccrary9045]

@@Thorned_Rose Wondering if this is an area where AI routines can actually help?

[@Thorned_Rose]

@@sherylmccrary9045 In my experience, AI is creating more work. At least at the moment - it's so unreliable that everything it touches has to be checked and checking for mistakes can be more time consuming than just writing everything yourself. And I say that as someone who has Cognitive Impairment that affects my speech and writing. :/ Nor does it solve the problem that there's just too much red tape and paper work to start with.

[@TheOtherCameron]

I work the same exact job at UPS, I recently had a new hire ask me, “When does it end?” And the only thing I could say was, “It doesn’t.”

[@122222770]

Love my job . I've "worked" to not feel burnt out. A big key is to check out from the digital world and be ok with inactivity or find things that provide active rest: cooking, reading, walking. Good luck everyone.

[@GeometryEX-hp9zs]

When I feel that the information on the screen is filled with too much negative emotions, I will quit or stop. Then calm down for a while. Due to the nature of the homework, it is almost impossible for me to leave the computer. But I can choose what to watch. Meaningful knowledge is still much more important than those emotions. The online world is still dirty, and I always meet ignorant people who are role-playing. They think they are people from a certain profession, but what they talk about is completely different from the profession, like a fantasy.

[@altair4849]

Caught tears suddenly swell and roll down my face while listening to this. I work the traditional 9-5 office job at an insurance company and had been at it for many years. I guess ive been suppressing my feelings due to my need to support me and those around me. I didnt know it had gotten this bad. Thanks for this. It has been a very long overdo wake-up call. You, sir, have made a difference in my life and I thank you soo much for it.

[@kChandler10]

Hi Jared. I enjoyed this video. Several points spoke to me as someone who was recently under great pressure while preparing my house to be listed for sale and planning to move 600 miles from my current location. I knew I could handle almost everything myself, but when the handyman and his helpers began destroying my repair and improvement projects I entered burnout. I addressed the problems and that helped a little but being angry, under time pressure, and not sleeping took my mind and body into severe burnout. Recovering took longer than I anticipated. Sleeping normally again was not enough to feel recovered. I had to come to terms with that awful feeling that I had trusted the wrong people and been victimized. I needed to talk about it but the two most important people in my life were completely unsympathetic. They did not understand nor did they try to understand what happened to me. The good news is I took time to be alone in contemplation and realized I could validate my feelings for myself. I came out of the experience with more respect for myself.

[@nopenope7777]

Worked in customer service for years. "Kill the que" was commonly used to try and rally us to work harder and get all calls/chats/emails cleared out. Repetitive work is inhuman. We need adventure, novelty and to use our brains. Hunting, gathering and other necessities took up a lot of that but in our sterile world, we are just bored

[@QuietlyCurious]

Yup, bored yet somehow still overwhelmed.

[@lonewolfgaming6473]

Gotta pay that mortgage and that sports car. Go on expensive vacations. Pay all those subscriptions. And make sure to impress everybody. 😊 ​@@QuietlyCurious

[@griffox]

Yes, even farming has seasons. The work at the beginning of the season is different from the middle of the season and the harvest time. And, winter provides a respite to prepare for the next year. Our ancestors were on a schedule with nature. We are part of nature, but in this modern industrialized world, there is no difference in the work from season to season. There may not even be tangible products of our labor. There's no harvest, just constant toil.

[@DoloresLehmann]

@@griffox No harvest! Great point!

[@shawndeshawngriffin1596]

I think burnout Freudenberger experienced is different from the type of burnout most people feel. I believe the burnout most people feel stems from feeling trapped. Pay is more of an issue than the job. Wages/salaries have stalled out so people feel like there is no way out.

[@jeffro-xj1]

I remember taking a business class in the 90's. Maybe it was Psychology. Either way, having a career and growing in a job was something everyone strived for. I also recall that there was not the pressure like today where it seems every job is expecting you to bring more value to the company than the year before. In many cases, where I'm at currently, we see yearly reviews full of how "I" brought more value to the company by "creating this report that reduced people hours to obtain the same data", "saved the company x number of dollars by automating this process", etc. For crap's sake, I was as productive as any year in my life and leadership is making me feel like a dick for not being even more productive in 2024.

[@justinedse8435]

@shawndeshawngriffin1596 It's not about the pay, it's about the stress and what it does to your health. It's a killer.

[@petersulewski]

@@jeffro-xj1 yup. the myth of infinite growth is devouring businesses and destroying workers.

[@Dorar47]

Everything in this video is beautiful. The way you explain things, the visuals, the background music, the lightening, the calm tone, man I love this

[@Yegorific]

The central problem is administrative overhead. Corporate supervisors rarely know what you do, or how to do your job, and therefore have no idea why your job needs doing. Hense all the pointless metrics to measure productivity, and the constant meetings to try to make sense of the metrics that mostly have no actual meaning. For instance, no mater what you do, your toilet will always need to be cleaned again. But the job becomes much more tedious if you have to report on the amount of cleaner you use, versus third party lab results of swabs from the clean toilet and how much traffic that particular bathroom sees. And in the end, who cares as long as the job gets done. But some hot-shot manager or consultant decided that there's money to be saved by tracking these things. And all his bosses decided that must be a thing, because third party lab fees are tracked under a different spreadsheet label, and billed slightly differently than cleaning supplies. That's our world: I don't know how to do your job, but I have a clipboard that says you're doing it wrong. That's why it all seems pointless, and that's why we burn out. That, and the fact that manegment runs on a 3-5 year cycle. You come to a place, make pointless changes institute useless metrics to make it look like you did something amazing, then move on to a new company or move up the corporate chain, and the disaster you've created passes to the next guy.

[@ElectricSwordFish-i4k]

Bang on

[@BaldKiwi117]

You've summed it up perfectly.

[@lolaphearse3688]

56 yo Internal Medicine physician here,so incredibly excited to retire in 2 weeks. Burnout is real,whether you know your job can make a difference or not

[@rika6767]

Two weeks and you'll be released from the Work Prison. You can do it! I still need to go 40 years, unless I have fixed this shit, finding an alternative, monetized endeavour

[@sunablast]

I'm sorry

[@BrigetteBordeaux]

Thank you for your services! Congratulations on retirement. ❤

[@evercuriousmichelle]

Agreed, he only talked about one aspect of burnout, for example I usually burnout when I feel I have little control over how I do my work.

[@fossegutten6579]

How can you retire that early? What country? In my country they just raised retirement age from 67 to 70. Im also a doctor(radiologist)

[@metalmistress1347]

4:51 thank you for linking the monotony of a UPS job with the monotony of working in tech! That has been my experience too. I work a job where I review software bugs, and that flow of packages describes the flow of bugs to a T. It’s never ending and monotonous. And as you mentioned, even in teams where things seem more exciting, like product development, it’s one endless project after another, with no breaks and all of them feeling pointless. My colleagues in that department also suffer from burnout and I definitely think the manufactured excitement of current tech culture make it worse. You’re supposed to believe you’re changing the world but often, you end up feeling like you’re making widgets.

[@mrknarf4438]

I wonder if a "levelling" system would help, gamification and such. Ten packages or ten bugs, level up! Then twenty, then thirty... With each level, a pay increase, bonuses every 5 and 10 levels milestones. It may make it feel more like progression towards something. People get very hooked on similar systems in games, perhaps such psychological mechanisms could be harnessed for good.

[@psalm1197]

Cogs in a wheel

[@Meritumas]

100%, sprint after sprint, meeting after meeting, feature after feature. You can literally vomit after working this way for 15+ years. Going independent, SOLO, and creating own products may be a better option.

[@bramvanduijn8086]

@@mrknarf4438 Gamification is transparantly manipulative, it has the opposite effect on me.

[@tomcollen462]

I once worked 7 years as a mainframe programmer where my primary responsibility was to modify the fine print on the back of credit card statements so the verbiage would conform to new state laws. And whoever reads the back of their credit card statements? Nobody. So I finally left that bullshit job; actually left that industry altogether.

[@matthathaway5015]

This video took me on a ride. As you explained the three parts of burnout, I thought, "Man, I've been burnout since I was 16." Then as you explained that burnout wasn't limited to jobs and can affect our whole lives, due to guilt of not accomplishing and inability to be bored, I remembered my father's overbearing OCD and his direct statement that I'd never be taken seriously or succeed in life, though always shoving me to do more. I guess I was really young when I started feeling a constant obligation to try win with no real goal in sight. Oddly enough, it was the Covid lockdown that broke a severe amount of that self-abuse. Being forced to sit at home, knowing that I couldn't be productive if I wanted to, and the relaxation that brought me is something that I carry with me today.

[@helgmelia84]

This reminds me of Roald Dahl’s book, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” In the book, Charlie’s dad worked a job screwing caps onto tubes of toothpaste, tube after tube after tube. No matter how fast or hard he worked, he earned only a pittance and the family went hungry. The 70’s film adaptation changed this to Charlie’s father simply being dead, but I think Dahl’s version is much more poignant because of that sense of futility.

[@jerryrichardson2799]

Listening here, I'm reminded of Paul Goodman's book, _Growing Up Absurd,_ where he talked about the lack of meaningful, worthwhile employment that young people were facing in the 60s. I read the book years ago.

[@deltapi8859]

Thank you for this video Jared. There were a few points that resonated with me. (1) forced positivity: This is not just the job, but also family and friends. I remember talking to people in my environment and they were bewildered by my dissatisfaction which made me feel so out of control and alienated. (2) depersonalization: The lack of control and understanding, combined with being forced to do things that have nothing to do with your personal goals or natural talents and the act of pretending makes you so cynical and skeptical of people, you see everyone as your prison guard or someone who wishes you to fail. (3) emotional exhaustion: Each of your emotions like frustration or anger feel invalid and you are pressured to feel what makes sense to someone else's story. You have to feel emotions someone else thinks are "reasonable" or "useful" for their story or gains (4) Relief is hidden behind a paywall of effort. You are supposed to have hobbies and reenergize, but everything is just WORK in this society. You are criticized for being a beginner, criticized for being ineffective. You have to force yourself to get up so "it gets better". If you yearn for something out of the norm then you are the problem. You have to build social currency so strangers finally become "nice" or "understanding" instead of the society's norm: critical. People constantly complain how people treat them while they treat others in the exact same fashion. Lack of control, feeling of personal ineffectiveness, anonymization, pretentiousness. I think these are the four horsemen of nihilism. It's "putting up requirements to your own discomfort". "Are you good enough to feel discomfort and lack of control? No? Well then you are the bottom of this society and deserve no ear and no empathy".

[@scoon2117]

Most of work connects to nothing meaningful, not even real world progress.. most of our work probably makes the world a worse place. Not to mention these work place cultures where speech and human connection is highly controlled by HR.

[@KeepItSimpleSailor]

I’m retired now. Burnout hit me in my 50s, in a job I had done for a good while but had become increasingly bureaucratically driven by countless different ’managers’ all trying to be ‘strategic’ and ‘innovative’. A job that made sense and was achieving outcomes gradually became unrecognisable and pretty much pointless. Thankfully things aligned such that I took early retirement. Thank goodness because my soul was dying that last decade. My only advice is to keep your employment options as open as possible, and if possible change jobs to work that’s actually achieving something if you find yourself in or approaching burnout.

[@michaeltaylor-xf6yo]

That's exactly what it is. Men that thrive on work, production, efficiency, purpose and competition...That's what has been taken away to accommodate the can't get er dones..Forced to level down for socialism or get wrote up. Its extremely boring. And yes management has a lot to do with it. They're indoctrinated and spineless nowadays

[@BSmithPPG]

I’m 51 and exactly where you explain you were. I’m currently just in a survival mode to outlast and outweather narcissistic toxic gaslighting bosses who just seek for themselves. It’s disgusting. I hope I’m able to make it.

[@willk7184]

I was a programmer and loved what I did. Designing mini software systems to solve problems or automate tasks was a fun and rewarding challenge for me. However as I went along in my career I started spending more time re-learning how to do my work because of the endless change cycles. As I read somewhere it's a situation where you're 'forever on the steep part of the learning curve'. It gets demoralizing because you want to take all that knowledge and experience and actually leverage it towards greater challenges, but you have to keep going back to square one to learn a new syntax, new style, new coding environment, etc. I used to envy other professionals like doctors or lawyers who can reach a kind of 'cruising altitude' where they can mostly keep using what they've already learned (of course there is life-long learning involved in any profession but in computers it's just out of control). After figuring out for the 118th time how to write a for-loop or if/then statement in whatever language I had to learn that day I finally burnt out and lost interest.

[@kenthompson5723]

I started spending more time re-learning how to do my work because of the endless change cycles. As I read somewhere it's a situation where you're 'forever on the steep part of the learning curve'. ------------------------------------------------------------------ guy, that's us end-users too. No sooner do we learn how to use one computer or one brand new tech gadget, we're told ... that computer or that tech gadget is no longer available or "supported", and you'll have to buy/obtain a new one. The learning curve for the new product may not be as "steep" as yours, but it's endlessly infuriating and bewildering. Tell your bosses to stop the innovation and "planned obsolescence", for the sake of your bosses' greed. Some of us want to just use only what's currently available and not be burdened with the dread of having to start all over with new and unfamiliar technology. I'm really tired and exhausted from having to learn different software just to be able to post my travel videos on KZbin.

[@willk7184]

@@kenthompson5723 As a end-user as well I totally agree of course. In fact, one of the most infuriating situations for me would be having to relearn an off-the-shelf tool like a web browser or spreadsheet program or even Windows itself when I *needed* it to meet a deadline. I used to get my dev system all set up perfectly and try to not change it but as you know eventually you're *forced* to update by the companies that demand the endless upgrade path.

[@ssgg23]

The crazy thing is, if you stick to low level programming this is much less of an issue. Those systems move at a glacial pace compared to say, web development patterns. But what gets advertised to students coming out of CS are the shiny React roles, instead of the more fundamental tools and graphics programming roles that still require the usage of C and C++ (which have been around for decades, and the fundamentals of the language are basically still the same).

[@8bitnitwit]

This is similar to how I gave up with web development; with frameworks going in and out of favour over time, it became less about what you were doing and more about how you were doing it. To me it just seems like change for the sake of change, with little or not benefit to it. If a person learns carpentry, they can build a chair or a table with those skills forever. The same can't be said about web development, and it was very demoralising.

[@kenthompson5723]

@@8bitnitwit To me it just seems like change for the sake of change, with little or not benefit to it. --------------------------------------------------- No, it's newness for the sake of profits. Planned obsolescence guarantees new bells and whistles whether users want them or not. These changes are not for users; they're for corporate suits, who keep changing the technology to FORCE users to buy new technology. It's all about corporate GREED.

[@ericschultz3891]

I worked at a pizza place in college and really disliked it for the most part. Now I work in tech and make a pretty good living but I miss that pizza job almost daily lol. I felt like I was doing something tangible at least. It sounds dramatic but I made people happy. Everyone is happy to see the pizza delivery guy show up.

[@justinedse8435]

@ericschultz3891 Been working in tech for 10 years and recently come to the conclusion that it's bullshit. I used to work at a pizza place too! Producing a tangible product you can see, quickly, making people happy.

[@SerfOnEarth]

Again, 10 seconds in and already looking fantastic on the production end. Awesome stuff Jared.

[@_jared]

Thank you!

[@fish6911]

You've almost made the connection here. Yes, people want time to do things that matter to them. Yes, being obsessed with productivity at work can be harmful. But bullshit jobs are still the problem. If what you do doesn't matter, or doesn't feel like it does, then how are you going to have the energy to do something that matters in the meager free time you have after work? Work is supposed to be meaningful in some way. People are supposed to make and do things that matter.

[@DuckieMcduck]

"Moving things in a warehouse" does matter, it just doesn't feel like it does. The problem is how the feeling of large scale in society has thwarted us from seeing our local selves. The fact price is constantly being dissociated from value doesn't help, as you have actual bs jobs that do nothing for anyone paying a lot more than jobs that do but don't feel like so.

[@henrytep8884]

It’s all relative, really that’s what the study shows.

[@paulpanighetti9721]

Pure winging.

[@YetAnotherManWithNoName]

My job is the definition of a bullshit job even if what I do betters the others I work with. Despite this and the burnout I may feel, I still push myself in my free time to pursue the things I'm passionate about like reading, writing, and smoking my tobacco pipe. "We need to learn to be bored." We feel like we need to be doing something all the time, but that's not true. If your occupation has no meaning, then it is your job to do something meaningful with the remaining time you have. Something meaningful to you doesn't have to be monetizable or productive. We are the ones that decide the meaning of our lives.

[@n4ughty_knight]

Who told you that you have to do something that matters?

[@abdurrazzak305]

I've only recently started reducing my screen time and I'm already feeling energetic. I can't remember when was the last time I got things done this quickly and this effectively. Thank you

[@drendelous]

i wish i could do that. but im learning programming so im stuck.. it requires literal pain like eye dryness or backpain so that i will switch to something else and work, screen time too

[@n4ughty_knight]

You'll come back

[@ninjacats1647]

I quit playing video games and somehow this has profound effects on my entire nervous system, which makes sense to me since I'm an empirical thinker and think that everything you do, eat, drink, breathe, and experience affects you.

[@GeometryEX-hp9zs]

@@ninjacats1647 I have returned to the version of strictly controlling time. I am starting to read again. Stay away from those meaningless quarrels. As for work, I think most of the work is meaningless. Especially those highly repetitive jobs. I see some people shouting that machines will replace human labor. Ironically, automated equipment has not created any real benefits. In the end, humans still return to the moment of doing repetitive work manually. It's like an unsolvable cycle.

[@bigchief2331]

We are not made to live like this, it is really that simple. It's time we rebuilt a sense of community. Let work take a back seat. Get to know our neighbours, share our skills and resources around, and live simpler lives.

[@consciouscrypto3090]

Burnout can come from meaningful work even, when there's just too much of it. Our minds need rest between tasks. We don't need to quite get 'bored' during the day, but we sure do need to have long pauses, and beyond just lunch and longer breaks. Pace matters.

[@riffraffrichard]

That’s why being a teacher is so easy to burnout, there’s very little time from the moment you leave till the end of the day where your not engaged with students. It’s why I’m considering leaving the day to day balance is off kilter. The holidays are great but I’ve never had a job like where once your in, it’s like a train going at 1000 miles an hour.

[@P_ounds]

I've been in sales for the last 15 years but have had some manufacturing/shipping jobs before. The monotony in both of those careers were AWFUL. After 20 years of working those type of jobs I decided to buckle down and finish my degree. I'm now a teacher/coach and the work-life of monotony is finally over. I feel like what I do actually matters even though I don't make as much money compared to sales/management.

[@macsnafu]

0:32 This chart is really just showing the introduction and growth of the term "burn-out", not the experience itself. Herman Melville's story Bartleby the Scrivener was published in 1853, and was the story of a man who was clearly burned-out from his previous job, even though they didn't have the term to express it.

[@happytofu5]

I am pretty sure that "The Metamorphosis" by Kafka is about burnout without the words to express them. The feelings of guilt and dissociation. The lethargy. The main character not being able to do his job even though he physically is healthy. The family being ashamed of his state and hiding him away.

[@DoloresLehmann]

The problems we now describe as "burn-out" were previously described under the term "neurasthenia", which was a frequently diagnosed condition around the time of the industrial revolution. It seems that this kind of condition is on the rise whenever there are drastic changes to overall society.

[@Thorunge]

I used to work for a service company, repairing furniture at people's homes, as long as they had a contract, or paid premium for a repair. Every year they reached new depths in trying to get out from under those contracts, I had to keep telling people I wasn't allowed to do even the simplest of things if it didn't fall within ever increasing exact borders. I worked overtime daily because others made an easy repair that was bound to break within a short while, while I tried to make lasting repairs which used up too much of my alloted time. Eventually, I got burned out. Tried again (within a few months) after realising that I could in fact do a full day's work (without the stress and deceptive nature of my actual job), because I would have felt guilty if I'd have stayed home longer. I think I held out for half a year tops when I realised I was back at feeling burned out again. I've since quit, and started working in construction-retail, where I can advise people (mostly laymen) on their projects. I can honestly say that the service industry was more about making money, than an actual retail buisness. At least now I make a difference.

[@auty888]

This is true. Boredom is essential to create new inventions, art, write books, all of the things that progress us forward in society.

[@cowmath77]

I have a bullshit job that pays $90,000 a year that stresses me out and has me sitting in front of a laptop all day. I consider this a win considering that most jobs through history had men literally breaking their backs for penny’s and retiring crippled… sure, I’m burned out; but I’ll be walking comfortably when I’m 50… I spent years digging ditches on a farm and as a cook, “meaningful jobs.” I’d have been working til I was ded.

[@justinedse8435]

@cowmath77 Actually you might not make it till then if the stress is so bad. Sitting isn't doing your body any favors either. All bad!

[@zacharyfindlay-maddox171]

Man I have been feeling really burnt out lately! It's almost Christmas, and I don't feel any Holiday cheer. I just feel depressed that I really can't afford to buy presents for people like I used to. Last year I felt completely different. I just feel numb and tired this year. My workplace seems very cynical, and robotic. It's weird.

[@istvanpraha]

that's another topic. For a country that loves work, we have too many holidays. Throw birthdays on top of it, and I'm utterly sick of standing around a cake with the same people every three weeks, without feeling like I lived in between!

[@mysterioanonymous3206]

I havent felt the christmas cheer in 20y brotha...

[@cathyann6835]

My children are adults now and I have three young grandchildren. We’re all over the Christmas price tag and madness. We still wanted to somehow celebrate. What we decided to do was buy each other a small gift between $10-15 but make it a useful gift. For example, buy a favorite coffee, a kitchen utensil that the person will use (one person I bought a good stainless steel bread whip), their favorite snacks or candy, nuts and popcorn, hot dog/marshmallow sticks for when they sit around the fire, a meat thermometer for their grill, a sturdy coffee mug or to go cup, warm fluffy socks for winter (or wool socks), a soft throw blanket, local honey, anything they use because it’s one less thing they have to buy or something they could use. We’ve decided for the kids one toy and a few useful items like hair ties, a hoodie, pjs, craft supplies etc. The parents are buying something in the theme of: something to wear, something to read, something you want and something you need. Then we just spend time making Christmas cookies and getting together to eat. It really has cut costs, stress and exhaustion. It has increased fun and excitement. We could cut out adults and make it cheaper, but this is fun and what we do for now since we can afford that.

[@cathyann6835]

Also I wanted to add, there’s me and my husband and two daughters and son in laws. So there isn’t many gifts. If you have larger families, do a name draw and you only have two gift to buy if you’re a couple, one if single. I still buy for my mom who is still alive though.

[@Gullvivas]

@@cathyann6835 🥰

[@lindas5964]

The insane complexity of every aspect of our lives is what finally caused me to check out.

[@royalbiscuits8442]

Ive always found this. I went to the shops the other day and was pestered for my email address for my receipt. I was then sent a receipt, along with tons of marketing. I just wanted to walk in, pay for my goods and walk out. I find I'm forever second guessing things as I have been burnt for not fully understanding something that frankly wasn't clear.

[@vadimtres]

Once in a while I stumble on videos that make me stop running. This is one of them. Thank you! 🙏

[@Chris-lz1fs]

I dropped out years ago after get fed up with what I saw as society's expectations of what or who I should be. People made it quite easy anyway as I was always an outcast and reject anyway. So I started forgetting everything I was ever taught at school & university and instead started building a much more peaceful and relaxed way of life working at something I find a lot more satisfying and fulfilling. So, here I am living a much healthier life without any influences from society.

[@TerranceBhS]

Completely agree. I feel that society is slowly conditioning everyone to live and act a certain way, to have a specific personality type, to have a defined set of interest, etc. Something as simple as being introverted or reserved is seen as a grave sin to many since everyone is expected to be an extroverted, screaming banshee when that's not realistic. People are different, not in what food that they like, or their favourite music artist, but at the core of their beliefs and personality. Society is slowly rejecting this and creating a "hivemind-like" population where everyone behaves trend-chase the same and it's strange.

[@Clara-c5q7j]

That is what true cynicism actually is. A workable philosophy about discarding the useless aspects of societal expectation and accepting that some loss of societal benefits will result. Unfortunately that word has been twisted now to mean a negative or unhelpful attitude, which is not the real meaning of it.

[@tevbuff]

@Chris-lz1fs Thank you for your comment. I’m trying to do the same.

[@omertaprimal6913]

The dwarves dug too greedily and too deep

[@terrancenightingale1749]

We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long.

[@varunchandrasekaran9245]

Too bad the next few scenes, at least in real life, won't be as exciting as the Mines.

[@drjohnn.sutherland3455]

I burned out twice in academia. I also saw dozens of others destroyed. It was 'the goose that laid the golden egg' syndrome. Success means the need for even more success, driven by management metrics and an atmosphere of brutal competition. This is quite different from the 'b s jobs" syndrome.

[@braxxian]

I became a minimalist years back. I stopped wasting all my money on a bunch of crap I didn’t need. End result, I’m a lot happier, work far less and have more free time to enjoy life. Pretty simple stuff really.

[@RogerVenn]

Same. I don’t make a lot of money, but I live so below my means that I’m comfortable. Eating for need, not for want.

[@levigrizz]

Trying to do the same!!

[@bramvanduijn8086]

Every time I consider doing the same (usually when I get a raise) living expenses go up more than my raise got me. So I can't really afford to work less.

[@fightswithspirits915]

lol. I went off on 15 people attending a conference call. They didn’t give a damn about delivering successful service to our customer. I felt bad for yelling at them but a PM told me afterward to not lose the passion and commitment they had lost. Then I got laid off bc I’m old. Then customer said no fkn way. Then I’m not laid off. You know, I never signed the severance papers and had no plans to do so. I was numb from the letter that informed me I lacked all skills that aligned to company strategy. I was incredibly offended. The NIST/HIPAA Security Program I lead is a trophy program in the State. Company blames me for their decision to get rid of higher paid aged staff that left a huge hole in delivery for thousands of customers. Company doesn’t even care about delivering on contracts. Kind of jaded these days. This video is a gift.

[@agdevoq]

I feel we're mixing "meaningless jobs" with "overwhelming jobs". My job has a meaning, but it's impossibly hard. We're heavily understaffed, to the point that - no matter if you work 24/7 without even sleeping - it's literally impossible to succeed. THAT leads to burnout. The "meaningless" job, maybe, leads to depression, but not to burnout. Burnout is when you push your limits to 300%, for months or even years, and it's still not enough. Thus, you feel lost. And then, everything comes down crushing you.

[@kcc879]

Teaching

[@angelal8829]

I think economic disenfranchisement plays a role in this too. Monotonous jobs are one thing if working then lets you pay your mortgage and feed your kids and help them build another life. Like it’s hard but I assume there’s still a feeling of meaning. Working those jobs when you can afford kids or a house or any of the macro things you want, the job feels pointless on both the micro and the macro level.

[@l.m.n.2338]

Thank you. I could do “meaningless work” 40 hours a week if it afforded me the lifestyle I wanted to be able to have fun in my free time and live comfortably.

[@JuStOkTa]

Yes, this exactly, jobs are only covering part of the needs of someone trying to make it, especially in cities going through housing crisis or living in spaces that get gentrified

[@Cauldron6]

I feel like this is a major point. If monotony can afford me a life to find meaning outside of work, it takes the sting of work out. Now working is the ONLY thing we have and it’s exhausting. The social contract is broken and we are TIRED.

[@shirleypapp3683]

I'd love to see a conversation about this and how it can apply to a stay at home mom/ housewives. I feel a tremendous amount of burnout but also guilty for feeling it.

[@MrMaxKeane]

Looking after kids is absolutely exhausting. It is this monotonous cycle of smaller jobs that fill up your entire day. The only difference is that it is incredibly rewarding. You can see your ‘product’ getting made. It is absolutely essential work (and of course, it is fun at times). But yes, very repetitive and very tiring. Breakfast Go out Lunch Put them down for their nap Go out Dinner Bath Brush their teeth Bedtime Wake up several times in the night Breakfast Go out …

[@earth8865]

My child turns 18 tomorrow and graduates high school this week. I have been a single mom this entire time. Both providing, protecting, nurturing, and raising him has been all on me. I would have given anything to be a stay at home mother, I prayed for that day to come and it never did. That way I could just focus my energy on motherhood not motherhood work all day and more work when I got home. I have to admit it left me bitter and angry I never got that chance and it robbed me of getting to thoroughly enjoy being a mother. I share my feelings and short story not to make you feel more guilt, or discredit the monotony and burnout feelings you are experiencing, but I share it in hopes to drum of feelings of gratitude for the privileged position you’re in. So many mothers out here would give their right arm to be stay at home wives and mothers. Instead, we bear the entire load by ourselves. I don’t know how far you are in your journey but someday it’ll be over and your day in day out valuable hard work will be over. The work you do for your family is the best contribution to our society.

[@SH-lz9du]

Tally up how many hours you are parenting, cleaning, shopping, cooking…etc. How much money would it take to hire staff to do what you do? And that’s why you have every reason to feel burnt to a crisp. Let the guilt go. Unless you HAVE a staff doing all those things. Then it would be OK to feel guilty. 😂

[@l.m.n.2338]

My job does make a difference for people but l’m still burned out because it doesn’t make any difference for ME. I work my butt off and have an advanced degree yet still can’t afford to but a home, vacation, etc. For me it’s more about feeling like I’m working to barely sustain myself more than job satisfaction. I can satisfy myself with hobbies. I just want to feel like the economy works in my favor.

[@Mystic_Paths]

Sometimes this happens when people feel like they must always be "on," constantly performing, and chasing success without enough time for rest or self care ❤

[@fredblake6135]

We are overwhelmed as a species....just look at the number of comments being posted here. We spend excessive time reprioritizing the hundreds of daily tasks on our "To Do" lists and actually only have time to complete 10% of them.

[@adamakesson7998]

I do not think a job needs to have a meaning in a bigger sense for you to like it. And a job do not need to have meaning. We should abandon this idea. If you think like this, the only career you will end up with is occupations like doctor etc. I believe there are many things that need to be fulfilled for you to enjoy work and not be burnt out. It is very individual and do not has to include having a meaningful job. Life is meaningless and we do not need to accomplish anything. The earlier you come to this conclusion, the happier you will be.

[@Dee-x9f]

I support this post. 61 years old, I worked in tech and higher-ed teaching for 35 years. I overworked, never married, no kids. What's important? The work environment. Not enough people consider this. It's honestly enough to go to a job where you like just 1-3 people and are happy to see them daily. Going home at 5:30 pm and sticking to that is key, because that job will never love you. Engaging both your mind and body to grow is meaningful, even if the work is challenging. These things keep you from feeling burnt, even when under stress. I did work I was good at and that was meaningful. But, the frustration of not only NOT making a difference, but watching the next gen of managers make the same mistakes, learning nothing from the past, is beyond disheartening.

[@the_exiled_soul]

@@Dee-x9f 💯 👏

[@RKMalo13]

This has to be in my top five of favorite videos you've produced. Pure brilliance! Thanks for uploading this!

[@fernandomoreno2716]

Such a good segue from your previous video on why we can’t focus. Keep up the great work by helping keep our mental sanity in the age of information!❤

[@Dinkbass]

I'm willing to pick up the slack for those less fortunate than I in the physical world. I am blessed with the body I have and it helps me to achieve. Some aren't that lucky but I'm glad to leand a hand both physical or mental to a situation.

[@etharon6397]

I don't comment a lot, but this time i need to say this - my God, Jared, I've been watching you for about two years, but seeing you change the format and quality of your videos, growing and glowing, going through it and still be you, damn, this has been a journey. Hearing someone with actual knowledge and research and not someone babbling to AI generated background is a relief always, everytime you post. In my mind we are friends at this point. great job you've been doing, really, i hope you know that with love, Gaby

[@OneColdtruth]

Watching this video while drawing/master study the burnout is so real. Crazy how everyone no matter what hobby or job it is can relate to this.

[@MehdiBouzidi]

I’m at a point where burnout has become normal for me, burnouting at least once a week, I’m not even questioning it

[@majorzhou6150]

Another great one!! I was told yesterday that I should think of things from a more positive way although deep down I know something is not right. And forcing myself to be positive is making myself feel even more depressed.

[@A.D.I.I.D.A]

Toxic positivity.

[@crimsonking6773]

overstimulation is an understatement for our society at this point, we are being stimulated to such a degree we are degrading into and schizophrenic adhd riddled psychosis. I started to notice it with head lights, they just keep getting brighter, and it's blinding. But then when I think about it; our food with insane amounts of sugar and flavoring, the increase in the number of lights and their intensity, the increase in sound pollution, social media, the internet, access to extreme porn, the normality of ingesting copious amounts of caffeine, the world wide news. the list just keeps going, every single vector in our life is currently overstimulated by magnitudes more than our ancestors.

[@larswillsen]

"Pretend like it matters" .. got me subscribed - then I knew this was what I want to listen to 🙂

[@MrMaxKeane]

I would love to see this conversation from the perspective of those within education. I feel like my students are burned out and my colleagues are too. Teaching is such an amazing and rewarding job… but the education system (I believe) sets everyone up for burnout. It’s all about exams, grades, achievement, etc. and I think the reality is that exam results don’t really matter and most people know this (no one is on their deathbed, looking back at their life, thinking, ‘I wish I got a higher score in my maths exam when I was at school.’) I would be interested to see what a society would look like if we abolished grades and exams. If schooling was solely focussed on nurturing students holistically. If students had a say in what they did with their time. If schools were reintegrated into local communities more. If local nature was a subject. If music and art and PE were as important as maths and English.

[@growtocycle6992]

If you missed university entrance, and you were academically inclined, you might have regretted that math exam. Otherwise, agreed. The issue is, not everyone is going to benefit from an academic pathway

[@alen2937]

Grades are there for a reason but education is not the end to be all. Education is becoming worthless when infected by dogmas and propaganda. Real education inspires curiosity on the reality about us.

[@4zdr456]

My highschool had the unwritten rule of fist of setting the frequency of the exams to the importance of the subjects. For example, if you went to a math-physics specific class, then you had an exam of it almost every week, but most other subjects had exams only every month or so.

[@robertreyes5036]

This is what happens when we monetize everything, including education. I’m a teacher and I really enjoy working in the classroom with my students most of the time. It’s all the other BS I can’t stand that has me on the brink. I have 8 more years until retirement but not sure I can survive that long. Teaching today is tougher than it’s ever been imho. Just need to make it to the finish line at this point. 20 year music teacher here btw.

[@Dxpress_]

Huge rant incoming: I have been burnt-out all my life ever since middle school. From power-tripping teachers punishing you for the most insignificant things, to always needing permission to say & do anything, to being expected to sit in silence & not talk to anyone during class, to homework existing as a concept in general, to the creepy cult-like "tradition" of having to sing my country's national anthem every morning or be punished, I could go on. High school wasn't any different, and I was already checked-out at the start of it. Everything for next 4 years all felt so fake & forced. Questions about what I want to do with my life after graduating ended up being my biggest pet-peeve. All I've ever known at this point is "sit down, shut up, do the work we give you, get judged on your work, repeat" for years, and now for the first time ever, I'm being asked what _I_ want to do? How should I know? I never had an answer. Eventually I found I liked software development, so that's what I went to college for afterwards. Except the decision wasn't really, "I want to go to college because I want to learn software development", it was more like, "I'm going to college because that's what you're supposed to do, and software development seems like the thing I'd hate the least." College stressed me so much to the point where I became physically sick by my last semester, and I'd throw up some days. Soon as I completed my program, I just left without sticking around for the graduation ceremony - I didn't care, I just wanted to be done. I don't even want to talk about the job-hunting process afterwards. I'm sure everyone who's tried looking for any job in the past decade already knows what an absolute slog & dehumanizing experience that is. The first few years into my software development career were nice, and I did genuinely enjoy what I was doing, but now the monotony has gotten to me and I'm back to not feeling like waking up in the morning, and that the work I do has no real meaning. None of the above ever felt like "accomplishments" to me, more like "being released from prison, only to end up back". To this day, I still don't know what I really want in life. All I do know is what I _don't_ want. And yet, despite it all, I can't complain, because it's either this or poverty. Yay. Let's just say I'm not at all surprised at the declining birth rates statistics. My own parents, aunts, and uncles themselves even all agreed that they wouldn't have had children either if they knew this is what it would be like. Thanks if you actually took the time to read all this.

[@imoutofluck7836]

strange that it’s people who work in transportation and shipping who think their jobs are pointless. i feel like their jobs are essential in terms of how many people’s lives they keep running. i would’ve thought the ones in the “bullshit jobs” would be people who did stuff similar to what the characters in the office did.

[@_jared]

It’s interesting. I think there’s probably a lot of work to be done to understand how people in different types of jobs feel about their work. Those shipping jobs are essential, in a very broad sense, in a way many office jobs aren’t.

[@zesky6654]

@@_jared it could be that those jobs could probably be done in a much more efficient way if not for [insert bs here]. I have had some friends who worked in warehouses express similar sentiments.

[@calabi-yau4894]

I feel that even if someone works in an essential job, they still feel like a cog in the machine if they don't feel appreciated or seen/heard. I think it would be informative to compare the feelings of burnout of employees between a shipping company with a CEO responsible for placating shareholders, and a shipping company that is co-op/employee owned.

[@jmichaelmatkin]

Glad to see Han’s book and this subject get attention. Check out Josef Pieper’s book Leisure: The Basis of Culture as he draws on not only the Greeks but medieval approaches to the need for leisure, which might serve as the antithesis to burnout. For Pieper, work is necessary but in order for it to be genuinely human work it must include leisure, space for contemplation in some form, a Sabbath of some kind. The constant push for efficiency and productivity has increasingly diminishing returns. To the extent that society reduces us to what we do then our worth rises and falls based on the worth and meaning of what we do. Leisure reminds us that we do not exist simply to produce, that ‘useless’ things can be good, and paradoxically this freedom from identifying ourselves as what we do frees us to find meaning in our work.

[@greyowl750]

I divorced at 59. Gave up, cashed out. Live in the philippines now. Happy warm and loved by a beautiful woman and living well for 25% of the cost back in America. Screw it, quit, cash out now and start living again.😊😊😊

[@Faceplay2]

This is why I’m so happy I went into law enforcement and now work as a PI. Ever day is different! Ever case is different.

[@tages_matuna]

Corporate life is not worth it!

[@JoeBauers]

I'm watching this video as I dread opening my email for the day... I used to be anxious about it, now I don't care...

[@scoon2117]

I'm gonna go live in a monastery and prey for you lol

[@OutsiderLabs]

You just said you dread it...

[@Kabodanki]

@@OutsiderLabsyeah lol

[@DoomSausage1]

Contradict much?

[@danielpak7264]

An oxymoron… “ i dread opening my email for the day” now i dont care lol just say one thing u nincompoop

[@DoughnutDragon]

I've never had a job but trying to get one has given me burnout by this definition. I apply and apply and i don't get interviews or responses. Nothing i do matters or makes any difference. Been trying to get a job since i was 15 I just turned 24. Still haven't had an interview or a response to an application. Any time I'm doing anything related to get a job I'm fighting off suicidal urges. Honestly i feel like having a job and being happy are completely at odds with each other.

[@urskrik6353]

I am a leech that leeches of the state money. I have no shame in this since otherwise the tax money I would have generated would have gone against everything I stand for

[@alanhamilton634]

My job matters. I just don’t get any PTO so I haven’t had a vacation in a long time. Also, we get the bare minimum sick time required by the state, so when one of us is sick, we all get sick because we can’t afford to take time to recover. Thirdly, I work in tech which is mostly contracted now so we’re repeatedly divided from the FTEs to show us that we don’t matter. It’s the way we’re treated at work that burns us out. We work our asses off, get paid less, get zero vacation time and feel trapped in an endless 9-5 (since social security is on its way to collapse). That leads to burnout.

[@briansingh1635]

Thank you. Well done. Good for you for showing up. Gonna Read now. What is our measure of worth.

[@anthonycastro2146]

A life without purpose will have your purpose defined for you.

[@ryankulczycki4215]

the description of burnout that resonates with me is a little different to this, burnout here is both feeling overwhelmed emotionally exhausted, but also critically feeling some sense of injustice or lack of appreciation lots of work and stress can be rewarding, but not if perceived social reward is lacking and the lack of reward feels unjust, idleness doesn’t fix this working with better people does

[@Archflip]

I feel like forced positivity inherently carries a sense of injustice or lack of appreciation as your emotional response is functionally disregarded as inconvenient to the organization's goals.

[@lamMeTV]

People really need to learn the difference between a job - where you trade life time for money - and work - anything, paid or otherwise, that contributes towards an overarching goal. I am working on a game, on a painting, on a scarf. Of course its a spectrum but that system has helped me tremendously.

[@kolelamont8728]

If there’s no hope for the future, what’s the point of even planning for it? Friends and I always joke about a bullet being our retirement, but honestly, I don’t think we are joking.

[@WSWC_]

8:34 Breathing helps. it helps a lot..

[@Raveress_Moss]

Being bored is scary when you constantly need a stream of money. I've been talking to my boss about doing 2 week work months. Hoping thats a good middle

[@KeepItSimpleSailor]

@@Raveress_Moss I met quite a few people in working life who negotiated different working arrangements - one popular one was a four day week (10 hour days) which seemed to work well for all involved

[@zapatafa]

I'm not sure how I feel about "burn out". I hear it used a lot in situations where someone is bored with their work or find it meaningless. But also, I've used the word for myself. Yet what I meant was that my brain crashed (in the middle of my PhD in mathematics) to the point that I could no longer think my way through even the most rudimentary mathematics problems that would be assigned in a first year calculus course (for a mathematician that's pretty basic stuff). It took me about a year and a half of recuperation before I was able to resume work on my thesis. It was a tremendous battle; it was a frightening experience that brought me to what felt like the edge of sanity. I'd essentially overworked my brain to the point that it just stopped functioning--a bit like overworking a muscle and very badly straining it or even tearing it. I've never again been able to work as prodigiously as I had prior to my "burn out"; perhaps that's because I'm afraid to get to that "burn out" point again or perhaps I did some actual damage and the "scar tissue" no longer allows the muscle of my brain to work as it used to.

[@kChandler10]

I'm sorry you went through that experience. You write about it with great insight. I can relate to recovering, but not returning to the previous level of functioning. Maybe that is due partly to the severity of the stress which led to burnout and partly to being a sensitive person.

[@zapatafa]

​@@kChandler10 Thank you. The experience changed me for sure. I learned a lot in the process and, perhaps this is the way these things should be, I am oddly even grateful for it. That said, at times I still lament the loss of function and focus I used to have.

[@dawnofthedelts]

Not trying to minimize, but you might want to try creatine supplementation.

[@gitteholmen8156]

⁠@@dawnofthedeltswhat is creating supposed to be good for?

[@dawnofthedelts]

@@gitteholmen8156 efficacy of creatine supplementation has been documented in numerous studies regarding concussive disorder, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson's, and treatment for anxiety and depression for non-responding medicine users. It serves as a precursor to production of ATP, which is what is needed for energy at the cellular level. It crosses the blood-brain barrier and is very healing. In fact, women such as myself in peri/menopause should be supplementing with creatine on a regular basis to help maintain muscle mass.

[@itsmrmanman]

I was just thinking about this and it's something I've been struggling with for a while now. Thank you for this!

[@nickmedley4749]

Thank you for breaking open this conversation. We desperately need to reform some of our work ethics.

[@SlakjeJasper]

As someone who has gone through a burnout in early adolescence, this video basically sums up how I feel about my career. I make websites that contribute to society, but the competitive nature of the industry, combined with the drive to constantly reinvent itself and be more efficient, makes it feel like I can never do things "right". I'm just mindlessly fixing bug after bug, until my project team is collectively burned out and we repeat the cycle on another project. I used to be passionate, but now all I really do is detach myself to cope and try to trick my brain into being productive anyway, without any intrinsic motivation. It pays the bills... But what I really long for is to be helpful to other people. Sadly, that feels out of reach. My mind is so burned out that it's hard to learn a new craft, and too scared of losing job security. I dream of studying psychology and doing what my role models, the therapists who helped me stabilize, do for others. It's a fleeting dream and every step I take in advancing my career and personal life, kills it a little more.

[@Dumbledump]

This world is shiiiiiiiiiiiitttt. And I never signed up for it. Please God send me to a bronze age village or something. Cause' this right here, is just fucked. I can't anymore.

[@kagankiesel]

Editing is on point with this one. I mean it’s always good, but this one stuck out.

[@ExposeTheElites]

This is one of the reasons I believe trades should be greatly considered by young people.

[@zesky6654]

Why do you think that trade jobs wouldn't also lead to massive burnout?

[@istvanpraha]

maybe but society needs to make it easier to enter. I am from NYC and it's easier for me to train for a coding job or arts degree than the "trades"

[@ExposeTheElites]

@@zesky6654 From personal experience, when entering into trades you have goals that you set for training to become a better craftsman. Later, when becoming say a technician, troubleshooting can become a fun and challenging experience since no two jobs are exactly alike, and often performed in different locations. Any job that required me to be indoors on a computer all day would drive me crazy. But, to each his own I reckon.

[@ExposeTheElites]

@@istvanpraha I can't speak for NYC, but in most places around the country, entering into the trades requires no degree. Your determination and hard work will advance you. Eventually you may choose to invest in your own business. Trades are badly in demand all around the world according to most metrics.

[@claireglendenning1]

This resonated with me so much. I’m married and we both have to work full time. Most of our income is spent on the basics with little left for holidays, hobbies etc. we aren’t maxed out with mortgage, our house is small and rural. True, I go out for walks, free swim etc. Theres little left over for meetings friends for coffee, a meal out never mind a holiday. My partner works most weekends and we’re like passing ships in the night. My parents had it sweet. Dad worked as a basic factory worker, mum didn’t work. He had a paid fortnights holiday in the summer guaranteed, his factory closed down at Christmas for a week. More time with the family. He had weekends off. They could afford a car, mortgage and holiday on his income alone! We can’t afford a holiday unless we save up hard for over a year. We don’t have a car, although we do have a mortgage which we’re grateful for.

[@alinaanto]

I worked for many years as a teacher. I don’t know anyone who would honestly say that teaching is a bullshit job. Still, over the years, I’ve come to realize exactly what is described in the video.