I have run a quality research peer group in IT professionals. One of the secondary researches questions was which personality traits do people prone to burnout have in common.

The research unveiled the following traits:

🤩 Curiosity. We are curious about new ideas, new shiny projects, ohhh… what a speaking opportunity, and I also want to take this training… Boom. Exhausted. The drive to newness and excitement can blind us from noticing when we need a break.

🧑🏽‍💻 Independence. Classical feedback we get is “It’s so easy to lead you”, “I can always rely on you coming up with a proposal”, … Amazing employee, no trouble. The problem arises when independence keeps us stuck in our own heads – struggling alone instead of reaching out for support.

🤌🏽 High standards in what we do help us to do our job well. The flip side is that we are as demanding to ourselves as we are perfectionists to our documentation (or Jira ticket, or bug report, or you name it). We can’t allow ourselves to be ‘good enough’, we exhaust ourselves with constant “higher/better/faster”.

🤓 And the last one, my favourite – responsible. We get promotions for taking responsibility. Problems emerge when we take too much responsibility, combined with independence and little skill in asking for help – it’s a way to a lonely place. Sometimes we end up carrying more than we can handle.
To conclude, a little metaphor for you. Using a loud voice: powerful on stage, but disruptive at the ballet. Being aware of the flip sides of our super-powers can save me from painful crashes.


Which of these traits feels most familiar to you?