Burn out at startups in 2024

I’ve been noticing that a lot of executives and employees at startups have been mentioning that they’re feeling really burnt out lately. It’s all anecdotal of course, but it feels like this year has been the breaking year for many folks.

Burn out is nothing new in the startup world. Startups are really fucking hard. You’re constantly chasing a moving goalpost target and there’s often no one to really help you out on the work. Unlike at large companies, vacations mean you’re often also working because there’s not enough to cover you.

But if we think about 2024, I do think it makes sense that a lot more startup employees are feeling the burn.

For one, the last 3 years have been tough in the tech and startup world. Companies are spending less. Growth rates at startups have gone down and employees have to work harder to generate more revenue.

Startup valuations have also declined and there’s a mental aspect of seeing your hard work lose value. The IPO window is closed and the demands for an exit have gone up so employees aren’t seeing the liquidity that they once had hoped for to justify their work.

In addition, head count at startups have gone down as they aim to get profitable. There’s just simply more work per employee than there was in 2021.

The optimistic view is that the market will improve and companies are much more employee-friendly when it comes to burn out than they were many years ago. There will also be a hard-charging mentality when you’re at a fast growing startup and that won’t go away.

I’m curious how companies will adapt to employee burn out going forward. For myself, it’s yet another reminder that I need to take care of myself and my health first.