GilaMonster (7/2/2015)
Informal survey before I make a fool of myself in an article (again)Do you get the feeling that IT people, especially ones at the top-end of the field, are too reluctant to ask for help?
I don't mean technical help, I mean with stuff like burnout, depression, etc.
I keep seeing it locally, the belief that we have to be superheroes to work in the field, must be able to work all-nighters, heroic long hours, don't take time off sick, never admit weakness.
Local thing, or more widespread?
Definitely widespread. Thankfully, I haven't experienced anything more than a minor case of it myself, and that was due mostly to office politics.
I've seen it in others where they quit their job or had a marriage end. There are warning signs, but I think they're seen by others long before the individual seem them. Of course, if you're depressed, you tend to listen to others less, which does nothing to slow it down. Since you think they don't know that their friends are trying to help them, they throw themselves into their work. The whole work/life balance is an important, albeit sometimes difficult topic.