This week, another wave of massive tech layoffs swept across the industry. Thousands of experienced software engineers, architects, managers, and tech workers lost their jobs almost overnight. But what happens to the people who survive these layoffs? In many cases, the workload increases, the stress intensifies, and burnout becomes almost unavoidable. In this vlog, I share the story of my worst burnout experience during my career in Big Tech. After surviving a brutal corporate reorganization and mass layoffs in 2023, I found myself trapped inside an impossible digital transformation project with crushing deadlines, endless meetings across global time zones, and a draining three hour commute into New York City. What followed was mental exhaustion, brain fog, anxiety, recurring nightmares, and a level of stress I had never experienced before. This is not just a story about software engineering burnout. It is about the hidden emotional cost of modern corporate culture, return to office mandates, AI driven productivity pressure, and surviving inside unstable tech organizations during an era of constant layoffs. I also share the practical steps that helped me recover from burnout including improving sleep, exercising consistently, setting work life boundaries, and reconnecting with people outside of work. These strategies helped me regain focus, reduce anxiety, and survive one of the most stressful periods of my professional life. If you are a software engineer, tech worker, IT professional, or anyone struggling with stress, burnout, layoffs, or toxic workplace culture, this video may resonate with you deeply. Topics covered include tech layoffs, software engineer burnout, Big Tech culture, corporate stress, AI and jobs, return to office, work life balance, mental health, career anxiety, and surviving burnout in the tech industry. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:11 My worst case of burn out. 7:11 What did Burn Out feel like? 9:47 How did I get out of it 11:55 Conclusion Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_iEmYXdZJvjxdUMehwSXqw/join Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/codeslingem Subscribe to my Newsletter: https://asiandadenergy.substack.com/ Book a coaching session with me: https://calendly.com/codeslinger1 Buy my merch: https://asian-dad-energy-shop.fourthwall.com/ #layoffs #bigtech #burnout #burnoutrecovery #softwareengineer #developerlife #workculture
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This is actually how people die in their 40s and 50s. Being ambitious, responsible, and on the right (wrong) spot. You think you can take on everything, but at that age, you actually can't. Sometimes health just starts spiralling down to some irreversible autonomous disease, or heart attack. Good thing you dodged the bullet. My best colleague didn't. Sadly, he got Chron's disease, and his life is now pretty fucked up. I also got hit, but my brain was softer than my body, so the anxiety kicked in, and probably saved me from breaking physically...
Everyone hates Salesforce. Even Salesforce.
My favorite is the constant projects, half or more of which go nowhere and get scrapped, then we move on to more new projects that mostly go nowhere.
I am sure that a lot of people who are middle aged drop dead as a result of this pressure and insecurity, you are so lucky to have made it out in one piece while building a new career on YT
Burnout recipe: 12 hours a day 3 hour+ 🚌 commute way more responsibilities Compromised sleep pattern ... Glad we got put of this. It takes many months to recover unfortunately, if at all
Just re-watched Office Space recently, there was a scene I totally forgot; an unemployed software engineer pretending to be a recovering crack addict, selling magazine subscriptions door to door. Funny how that was a thing already back then. Some things never change.
everyone needs sleep, exercise and a community. thank you for sharing!!
I felt this burnout too when i was working with AWS. I litteraly could not think anymore the brain gets so fatigued even the weekend is not enough to recover and i would go back on monday feeling the same way. This is when i knew that i had to leave that dumpster ASAP.
I am 45 and have worked in top tech companies all my life including senior management roles in last 10 years. Last year in September, I said goodbye to all the bull$hit of tech corporate culture forever. I was being "ordered" by the CEO to change my linkedin job title after working 4 years in his company. I just refused and told them that the company had no right to dictate anybody's personal lives. I knew the result in advance, and was let go with a severance package. I had the same burnout as you described for 6 months straight. In 40s, the body clearly starts to show you its limits and one must respect those. Many times, on my way back from office, I felt so tired that I just wanted to fall down on the floor and sleep. On top of that, add all the mental stress that you face every day working in typical tech culture. I had enough of it and was looking for an escape. The stupid CEO put that escape on the plate with severance package.
I hate working on Customer Force. What a POS!
The detail about still feeling exhausted after a Labor Day break is the part that should make people stop and pay attention. Normal tiredness goes away with rest. Burnout does not. That distinction matters because if you miss it, you keep pushing through something that rest alone will not fix. Have you ever taken time off and come back feeling just as drained as when you left?
I’m 12 months out and still need a daily nap. I’m kicking ass at motherhood though.
This agile scrum thing took all the joy from coding.
I’m 32 years in the tech industry. I finally tendered my resignation - I’m absolutely cooked.
"CustomerForce" is the most soul sucking crap ever
What you described is definitely burn out...I had it bad and retired at 62, it took a full 6 months of rest to begin feeling almost normal again. I stayed retired and glad I did !
I'm a Senior "Customer-Force" developer. I feel your pain on learning the "Apex" of programming skills to work with the system. It truly is overwhelming for outsiders.
My company went through a reorg last week. They shut down the German dev team, and 40 people lost their jobs just like that...
Your story telling skills is amazing!! And the comments here are so genuine
I had many burnouts. They're easy to recover from when you're young. Eventually you get to the point where you don't recover. Where they feel like a permanent physical injury.