Report on Burnout in Open Source Software

I am currently working on a report on the causes of burnout in open source software. You can read the most up-to-date draft below (or as a PDF).

I am really keen to get feedback from the open source software community on the content of the report, to ensure I have not missed anything important, and that I'm fairly representing the community's views. I am particularly keen to hear the community's thoughts on the factors that contribute to burnout (section 4) and recommendations for how they could be addressed (section 5).

I identify 6 factors that appear to be contributing to OSS engineer burnout: difficulty getting paid, workload and time, maintenance work as unrewarding, toxic communities, hyper-responsibility and pressure to prove oneself. I then outline 4 general directions that could be taken to reduce the prevalence of burnout: pay OSS engineers, foster a culture of recognition and respect, grow the community and advocate for maintainers.

If you work in open source and can spare some of your precious time to read the report, I would love to hear from you! You can talk to me on Bluesky publicly at @mirandaheath.website, or drop me a private email at miranda@mirandaheath.website.

It has moved me to learn how people in OSS have had to suffer mentally and physically to able to practice their craft. To labour out of love in a market society, OSS engineers are having to put themselves in a position in which they are vulnerable to exploitation and harm. I hope that these stories can reach a wider audience so we, as often unknowing beneficiaries of their work, can better understand how to protect them.

This research was funded by Sentry as part of their Open Source Pledge initiative, and I am very grateful to them.