Yes, Self-Care In Tech Is Possible (And Here’s How)

Career Development, Wellness

This is a series focused on actionable things you can do now to put yourself on your agenda.

This may surprise you (probably not), but self-care and Silicon Valley go together as well as ketchup and ice cream. 

The frenetic pace keeps people working every hour of the day, night, in-between, and yes, even those “I guess it’s morning again…” moments.

 Of course, tech isn’t the only industry where self-care is on life support, but dude, the tech space is leading the way in burnout and dangerous behavior choices that threaten our long-term health and livelihood.

You’re probably familiar with Blind, the workplace app popular among tech employees. How popular is it? Over 40,000 Microsoft employees, 25,000 Amazon employees, 10,000 Google employees, 7,000 Uber employees, 6,000 Facebook employees, and thousands of employees from other tech companies use this amazing app. Blind recently asked one question of all participants: “Are you currently suffering from job burnout?” Over 57% of respondents answered, “Yes!”

We know the dangers of not prioritizing self-care well: burnout, using more sick days, stress, and all of the fallout effects including clinical anxiety, depression, destructive behaviors, addiction, and even self-harm. Chances are you or someone you love is on their way to burnout or trying to bounce back from it.

As a tech executive in Silicon Valley over a period of 20 years I’ve rebooted twice from burnout, and, as an executive coach help my clients do the same. Leaders are working with me to grow their careers, be present with their loved ones, and implement self-care strategies.

I’d like to offer you this question to ponder (it’s one I ask each client I work with): how do you make time for self-care while keeping up with the pace at work? As a leader in your organization, how do you encourage and create opportunities for your employees? What about in your family and community – how do you encourage those you care about to do the same?  Send me a note – I’m interested to know.

This week I’ll share what’s been working for my clients (and some personal examples too) to keep mind, body, and heart happy and healthy without going crazy 🙂 I’ll break it down into bite size pieces over a few days so you can try some of it out yourself.