Hi Lothar,
As I do a lot of mentoring and sponsorship, this is a priority topic for me
so often with folks. I feel like I'm offering a lot of support to those
I'm working with, but recognizing that if I don't take care of myself
first, I won't be able to be there for others, (this of the airline example
of putting on your oxygen mask first, then putting on the mask for your
child or individual you are caring for.) I'm taking numerous paths to
finding self-care. At the same time, just as you've reached out here, I've
found myself reaching out to my own network. The Microsoft community is
really, really connected and very open about feeling vulnerabilities. Just
my opinion, but I think the Oracle community is more into presenting
themselves as resilient, so it may not be as easy to present the issues
they're facing. There are a number of support groups at Microsoft to
support us during the pandemic and then in the Data Community, (formerly
PASS) we have a couple times per week that there are "happy hours" that are
really support to keep us connected, offer support to each other and just
step back from our daily work demands. The one that I'm part of is Friday
afternoon, (yay, it's Friday!!) and we have people in that invite who show
up from all over the globe, so it's Saturday morning for our Aussie
folks.)
For those I am mentoring, I meet with some of them as they need support and
others on a weekly or monthly basis, but it's gone from sponsorship to more
of a support basis. For the women, it's a loss of opportunity to speak
publicly, less opportunity for promotion and the pressures of home/work
with children homeschooling, etc. For the guys, it's some of the same, but
less support, as diversity and inclusion is part of everything the
Microsoft community does, they have all these new initiatives leading up
with support of women and people of color, but honestly, we all need
support right now and those I mentor who are white males just seem to have
less likely to get priority. Just as I do for the women I know, I am
connecting the men who are dealing with similar challenges to ensure they
have someone who understands where they're coming from. Challenges with
mental health, job loss, pressures to family connections with
quarantine/working from home, etc. is all adding to crushing pressure on
folks.
Many are taking breaks from social media, choosing to connect online using
other methods, zoom/teams overload, causing them to break off and log off,
(I am known for going to "my island" to escape, i.e. Nintendo Switch Animal
Crossing.) Some days, I just sit on the phone with those I'm connected
with and just try to be there. Technology, especially the cloud is
exploding in its growth, how we work is changing and life in general has
changed with the pandemic. Those that need more in-person contact are
going to feel the most pressure, but we all need support during this
unprecedented time. I'm not surprised about those in IT really having
difficulties though, even those that are introverts and used to working
remote are now inundated by emails and zoom overload where before we could
just be left in peace... :(
Lots of thoughts on this topic, but hopefully this rambling offered some
helpful content.
*Kellyn Gorman*
DBAKevlar Blog <http://dbakevlar.com>
about.me/dbakevlar
On Fri, Dec 10, 2021 at 9:21 AM Lothar Flatz <l.flatz@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Guys
I mean to teach my collogues that they do a straining job (as DBAs in
Managed Service). They have to understand to take care of themselves.
By tradition we define a tough job as physically challenging. I think we
underestimate mental work.
In some way I got the effect measured in 2011. I used to play chess
tournaments since I was 16.
In 2011 I played one tournament at Monday and one on Friday.
On Monday I scored 1st Rank with an ELO performance
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elo_rating_system) of >= 2200 and on
Friday I had an Elo performance of roughly 1800. (Elo performance means
that just one tournament is measured.)
Thus I effectively lost 3 levels due exhaustion by work . I stopped
playing tournaments. It is no fun to be reduced to expert when you can
play on national master level.
If you would please share your thoughts on how though IT Jobs are and
how you deal with it? Maybe you can also point me to some good articles.
Thanks
Lothar
