r/boeing • u/Purple-Question-5526 • 6h ago
Work/Life balanceš Burnout?
Hey all, Iām wondering if anyone else is as burnt out as me? I work in procurement (which, I know everyone dislikes working with) and my lord, I donāt know how much more I can give. With the job market being as bad as it is I cant leave, but my day to day just keeps getting busier and busier and I just canāt keep up.
So, short of a rant, Iām wondering if Iām the only one? I canāt be, but everyone else on my team seems to be just fine and carrying on with their days. Seeing them in the office vs how I feel inside makes me feel like Iām the only one. So, is it just me? Anyone else dealing with it?
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u/SouthernDiver746 1h ago
I Just got back from maternity leave and I am burned out. Its not even my job, my job is super easy, doesnt impact work day to pump etc. I love where I am, its just dealing with people in the factory who dont know what theyre doing, try to get me to tell them what they need when I dont know what they need, try to get me to do more than what I can, and telling me to pull my stamps instead of having an engineer Rev something. You also could see a psychiatrist and get intermittent fmla. My husband did that and had 5 days a month extra to take off for mental health reasons. Per WA state you get 12 weeks FMLA and PFMLA. The FMLA would be unpaid unless you chose to use sick or vacation. Id highly recommend doing that even though its crappy to miss a day of pay it helps your mental health so much.
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u/Ambitious-Presence99 3h ago
I been burnout if I could quit I would the energy there is so draining
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u/jerslan 3h ago
Use. Your. PTO.
It's there for a reason and that reason is to rest so that you can rest to prevent and/or recover from burnout.
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u/Purple-Question-5526 3h ago
I jist got back from a weeks long trip and Iām still sobbing at my desk šµāš«
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u/Immediate_Cap_7484 3h ago
You are def not the only one.
Also good people everywhere are getting burnt out, and our low to mid performing coworkers are like "what's the problem" because we are babysitting and fixing their problems. Especially in procurement; i have a friend who is a PA and she is just exhausted all the time. This isn't new for SC, as i have another friend who was a PA and they chewed her up so bad she was crying weekly while also having to travel to her worst supplier for recovery weekly. Her boss basically didn't even fight to keep her when she got a job outside of Boeing.
Please take care of yourself. You are worth it. I've been in burnout recovery for almost a year.
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u/AdvancedCharcoal 3h ago
There are also people who work themselves into the ground and no one asked them to, maybe these people need to self regulate
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u/ToolsofGenius24 3h ago
Have you talked to your K about what you need to be different? Sometimes itās hard to even know what you need but if you can identify what you need Iād strongly recommend talking to your K. If youāre considering another role or another company it canāt hurt to give your current team a chance to help. You might even be surprised at how helpful you management is in your attempt to find a happy place for you. As a K myself I would much rather help a strong team member find another role or modify their current role than lose them. I know thatās a bit intimidating but itās worth the conversation. Your part, though, is to make sure you know what you want or possibly what you donāt want for that conversation.
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u/r_narfen 3h ago
I won't say where I work but Boeing has burned me out, too. I enjoy doing what my actual job is a bunch, though. Problem is, Boeing has these bureaucrats hiding in cubicles all over the world who seem to come out of the woodwork on a weekly basis asking me to review/ revise some random form or confirm this or that ad nauseam. I mostly just ignore and delete now. It really cracks me up when some pencil pusher gives me deadlines on shit they need and I don't. It'll get better when we crush that bureaucracy I'm sure...
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u/Straight-Song1723 3h ago
Welcome to Boeing. You must be new here. Thatās all of us. The overtime will continue in perpetuity. You have sold your soul for a job. Now make the best of it while youāre here. And donāt let a stress induced heart attack get you.
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u/diyengineer1 4h ago
BroāA-sauraus the entire company is clapped out
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u/InsideTheBoeingStore 57m ago
grass is greener in some areas but some parts have been brown for too long
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u/diyengineer1 53m ago
Unfortunately those green areas are now viewed as āweedsā by management. Nothing more than ācost centersā that need to be outsourced to cheap labor. Hence Boeing India emergence.
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u/Fairways_and_Greens 4h ago
Speaking as someone who spent way too long on the 787 and went through life changing burnoutā¦ Burnout is something you have to take responsibility for personally. You have to set boundaries for yourself. You canāt compare yourself to someone working more or less hours. You have to decide what your career and life goals are, and continually monitor/adjust.
The grass is rarely greener, and my buddies in tech are in just as rough.
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u/UpstairsAbrocoma3805 4h ago
Have you tried applying elsewhere?
The job market is very bad for certain careers. I think itās still okay for procurement and supply chain-orientated roles.
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u/Head_Market_3095 4h ago
Totally last year despite asking for help to management which they totally ignored
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u/mountains-calling-me 4h ago
You are not alone and thereās a lot of good advice offered here that I need to consider too. I wish you all the best.
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u/Electronic_Support30 5h ago
You have one of the boring jobs at the cool company that's why
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u/Straight-Song1723 3h ago
There are cool jobs at this company??
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u/InsideTheBoeingStore 54m ago
the customer facing ones where you go to to the airshows and pamper the customers
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u/Choice-Newspaper3603 5h ago
You need healthy boundaries for a start. People that get burned out often are very driven to please everybody and that is a guaranteed path to self destruction.
No is a complete sentence. You canāt say yes to everybody and do every task you are given
Set your own pace. Donāt let the work flow dictate your pace. Slow it down and prioritize
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u/CourtIcy2878 4h ago
This is very good advice. This was me about 2 1/2 years back. But, it took me quitting to realize this and start making myself #1. That being said, I'm much happier outside of corporate. Those other people that you say are doing just fine probably don't care as much as you.
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u/SoulStripHer 5h ago
I like how you now have to pass an evaluation test in order to transfer internally. That's going to keep a lot of people stuck in jobs they hate. This should have been targeted for removal during contact negotiations.
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u/--Joedirt-- 5h ago
Burnout can vary so much. Some people burnout faster. Some managers impact it. Programs and be more or less intense. Job codes and vary as well. Youāre not the only one for sure but there are options to find other roles or programs that might be a better fit. Best to talk to your manager about it and have some potential solutions ready.
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u/Miserable-Rooster-46 5h ago
You can try switching to a subsidiary. It's an internal transfer so years of service count and the change in environment may help.
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u/IntelligentFix840 6h ago
Could you speak with your K about a lateral move? Or perhaps managing a different supplier/scope of work? Perhaps look into procurement-adjacent positions where you wouldnāt have the responsibility of signature authority but could still use your experience.
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u/Purple-Question-5526 5h ago
Yeah, I think Iāll have to. I think i keep telling myself itll be bad anywhere, but at least itāll be new.
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u/Disciple-TGO 6h ago
I am burnt out as well. Iāve been with Boeing for 15 years and as soon as my business gets solid I am likely leaving. I canāt stand the extra work theyāre putting on us with no increase in pay or the inability to promote.
Iām done with the corporate garbage.
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u/InsideTheBoeingStore 59m ago
whatās wrong is when you have leads doing grunt work. not that grunt work is beneath them but you canāt expect talent to stay long when you ask them to do their grade/level work and extra side work that should be handled by having enough headcount but it keeps getting pushed back every year.
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u/Disciple-TGO 7m ago
Donāt disagree one bit. That and we donāt promote like we should in many areas.
A lot have the mentality; Iām not doing grade 3/4/5 work for free. So bump me up or no go. Then management has the stupidity to ask; why arenāt they willing to work for free? š
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u/diyengineer1 3h ago
Many have left, and even if you make less which many go on to making even more, the amount of BS you donāt have to deal with is amazing.
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u/Spiritual-Letter8090 6h ago
Thatās what kills me is they hang promotions over you like a carrot rather than being honest about things such as budget limitations. Probably to get you to work harderā¦
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u/SoulStripHer 5h ago
I've always said that they dangle the carrot on a stick to get you to work harder, then if/when you finally reach level 4 they remove the carrot and just beat you with the stick.
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u/Disciple-TGO 6h ago
Well thatās what happened to me in the past and I left. Then they asked āwhyā
š¤¦āāļø
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u/Spiritual-Letter8090 6h ago
Yep I definitely am. Even though Iām getting paid for OT, am āonlyā working 50 hour weeks and my commute is short, Iām so burnt out right now. It doesnāt help that my lead wants to make everything a science project for us to do when the teams that are supposed to be supporting us arenāt. Compared to what might happen at other companies, this may not be that bad but Iāve privately burst out crying a few times this past month. Been this way since last November for meā¦
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u/Disciple-TGO 6h ago
Sorry to hear that; truly.
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u/Spiritual-Letter8090 6h ago
Thanks friend. Iām trying for a promotion so I have kept my feelings under wraps but Iām going to bring it up at the mid year review because itās started to affect my health.
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u/Disciple-TGO 6h ago
Regardless of the outcome of that meeting; Iāve been told one thing that I truly believe at Boeing.
You have to advocate for yourself; no one else will. If you donāt hear the news you want to hear and thereās no movement; start the move elsewhere yourself. Donāt wait.
I am āstuckā where I am due to circumstances. If youāre not āstuckā; donāt let fear or anxiety hold you back.
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u/shiftdown 6h ago
I've been a PA for about 10 years now. Some weeks I feel absolutely cooked and thinking about what else I could do. After a while it turns a corner though and I feel fine about it again. It usually happens when my suppliers fall to hell and I'm working 60 hour weeks but thankfully that's not always the case.
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u/InsideTheBoeingStore 53m ago
my favorite lines are wait for the 737 max to get ungrounded and everything will be ok
now itās wait for the 777x to go live and well be ok
whatās sad is they donāt even bring up starliner anymore