Are all engineers burning out or is it possible NOT to be overworked?! 14

[PaperPlane]

Hey everyone, I'd like some opinions on this from engineers from various organisations please.

I used to work with a very big marine construction company as a graduate trainee and then as a fully fledged engineer for 4 years. I was told I was good at my job, but never felt as confident as I would've liked. My main issue was that I was straight out of uni and wanted to revise my university notes to keep the theory fresh in my mind (my work was very theoretical). However at the end of every working day I was so exhausted I couldn't bare to revise.

In my final year in this job I was doing the work of 3 people and was set unrealistic deadlines. When I mentioned this to supervisors they agreed, but just said: 'do the best you can!' It was the typical overworked-employee scene: lots of overtime, sometimes weekend work, and although my salary did reflect this extra work I felt completely drained and eventually had to take sick leave from all the stress caused.

I have since left engineering and moved into the public sector, which I enjoyed for a short while, but more recently feel very disheartened that my skills with numbers and logic are not being utilised in any way. I miss the satisfaction of solving a complicated engineering problem. There is some small element of nostalgia creeping in here, but I do feel very strongly that I want to work with numbers again, perhaps in another engineering role that is not so draining.

So I bet you can guess what my next question is: is this the norm? Surely there are engineering companies out there that take care of their employees and discourage overworking, don't overload them with projects as soon as they realise they're good at their jobs?

Is it possible to re-enter engineering and find organisations that won't destroy my health as the last one did? I am willing to retrain or go in at a lower salary/lower level position to return to engineering, if the company is right.

What do you all think? *fingers crossed* Give me some hope!

 

[ornerynorsk]

It's managements job to get the most out of each employee. It's been said on this forum, only you determine how many hours you work. Absolutely true.

As long as you keep giving, you have indicated to mgmt that your limit has not yet been reached, and they will continue to ask for more. It's your job to determine equilibrium, you will never be able to give as much as they ask for, it is open-ended.

There is a huge misconception within non-management employees, that mgmt can never be satisfied. This is not true. If you are doing your best, and it's good quality work, and not slacking, you have a duty to yourself to draw the line. In most cases, mgmt will not only be satisfied, but will respect your ability to know your own boundaries and having the courage to (tactfully) communicate them.

 

[KENAT]

Maybe, untill your limit stops something they perceive as important getting done in time for them to get their bonus or the like.

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[beej67]

I can't speak for all engineering disciplines, but Civil is an extremely boom-bust discipline, because of the nature of project lead time and project financing. You're either overworked or unemployed because there's either too much work or none at all.

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[EngineerDave]

Every job and i mean every job I've worked since I first graduated in a bachelors degree fell into this vicious cycle.

1) Start out new, learn the company ropes
2) Add hours and take on new responsibilites. Never say no to any job
3) Get disenchanted, possibly screw something up due to too much on the plate. Feel resentment towards other co-workers who slack.

I early good raises early on in an organization when I take on more, but then it levels out as management comes to expect it. Then if something goes wrong because I stupidly didn't ask for help when I didn't have time, I am the only one responsible


And I do believe part or all of it has to do with low self esteem when it comes to my professional life.

Co-workers notice this type of stuff. If they have been with the company longer than you, they'll find ways to dump their work on to you even if they aren't your boss because they know you won't say no or rarely say no.

I seriously never learn.

 

[debodine]

I have developed a self-defense strategy that has worked for me, but it takes time to put in place.

In my military days, one of my responsibilities was to train the ranks below me to step into my shoes and step into each other's shoes if any of us was taken out. Later in my career I learned to recognize poor command leadership in other units when I would hear from another outfit, "Well the only person in our unit who can do that is Sgt XX."

However, corporate America (I have only ever worked in the United States so my strategy may be useless elsewhere) seems to if not encourage such concentration of skills in one person, at least seems to accept it as a part of doing business. There are managers out there who do not let themselves get trapped this way, but there are quite a few who do not watch out for this concentration of skills.

So my strategy has been, wherever I have worked, to keep learning other disciplines, other tasks, other software packages, other CAD programs, and even though I am not management to learn a number of accounting and tracking methodologies. By doing so I am usually able to put myself in a position where I am at least somewhat "untouchable".

Now I want you to know I understand that no one is TRULY indispensable, least of all me. But I have usually been able to position myself so that if not indispensable, it will be a real pain for my manager to not have me around.

And here is the reason this is on topic for the original post: By placing myself in that position I find that I have a much higher level of success at refusing additional work unless I am sure I have the time for it without over-committing my schedule to the organization.

I am extremely grateful for the jobs I have had and for the job I now have. But I have always tried to position myself to be able to have control over my workload whenever I can do so without either losing my family time and without hindering the success of my manager, department and company.

Like the vast majority of my peers who post here I am more than willing to do far more than normal when a surge effort is critical. Every organization legitimately faces such situations. But in organizations where such "emergencies" are the norm rather than the exception, I can often avoid being personally overloaded for more than just a short term effort.

I have been in my industry 36 years...I don't mind having a job but I have family with whom I would much rather spend my time, and due to a lot of poor decisions on my part and some corporate skulduggery, I doubt I will ever be able to retire. But while I know I am working towards the grave (aren't we all?) I will spend all the time I can with family and still support my organization but within limits that I have usually able to set.

)

 

[bridgebuster]

I work for a very large company. I got there through numerous acquisitions and megers. At the beginning of the chain I was with a small firm. We had a good reputation and designed several well known bridges. We also had a "do whatever it takes mentality." What I mean by that is no task was considered beneath anyone's dignity. In a crunch, our senior engineers would think twice about preparing a bar list or doing some drafting. We cared about the project.

And we were paid for overtime, although it was straight time. I had a five year stretch in the 80's where I was generally working 57 hours a week. From reading various posts, we're working 50+ hours a week for free. In my office, young engineers don't want to work overtime even though they would be paid for it ( most of our work is T&M).

I work more than I have to because I like to come in early. I can get things done when I'm not being interrupted. But I usually stay late because on my projects I don't have a deputy PM or a real project engineer who can look after things if I'm not there. Today, people have become very particular about what they like to and what they will do, AND, they get away with it.

30 years ago, if I said no the the chief engineer or my squad leader I probably would have been thrown out of a window (not literally). Work was work.

 

[Ashereng]

I have worked for a major international engineering consulting firm that do not "burn out" their engineers, and look after their people. I have also worked at a major international engineering consulting firm that burn people up and spit them out. In fact, both instances was at the same firm.

What I find is that it is not the company that burns people out, but your immediate supervisor/manager. At every company, public/private, large/small, this/that, there are good and bad people. You have to make do the best you can of a bad situation and look to move on. You have to enjoy and savour the good situations, before you move on.

Remember how you feel now. In a few years/decades, you will be the one affecting other people's working lives. Treat them the same way you want to be treated well.

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
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[twinky64]

I'm currently an intern for a major international medical device company. During the 6 months I have been working there, I see that many of the engineers work no more than 40 hours per week. I was astonished to see/hear that since I thought 40 hour work weeks were nothing but a myth. However, this company definitely does take care of its employees (i.e. really discourages laying people off/firing people). Unfortunately, they are on a hiring freeze so when I graduate this spring, I won't have a position there.