Lately, we’ve been tossing out terms like “New Normal” and “get back to normal,” but, for many in the tech industry, work culture was al

This Can’t Be Normal: The Tech Industry After a Year of Burnout

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2021-09-01 00:00:12

Lately, we’ve been tossing out terms like “New Normal” and “get back to normal,” but, for many in the tech industry, work culture was already broken. Toxic workplaces were shockingly common well before the outbreak of a global pandemic that further highlighted buried issues, such as racism.

There’s no doubt that COVID-19 pushing the majority of the tech workforce home enabled rapid innovation and adoption of the tools that finally allowed most of us to work from anywhere.

But somewhere along the way, contrary to popular headlines, we started to realize that our way of working hadn’t really changed that much. Where we worked did. And maybe how. But the new normal felt a lot like the same old. Leaving us more burnt out than ever.

The last year has mostly demonstrated the adaptability of humanity in crisis. And it’s shown that we can work from home if we have to. Now, as we start to consider heading back to the office, it becomes a question of should we. Is this remote-first world sustainable? Not just for the industry but for the tech workers that make it up.