Miranda Heath

You Can Help Solve Burnout in Open Source Software!

The more I researched the problem of burnout in OSS communities, the clearer it became that the big issues leading to burnout in OSS are social structural.

What are social structural issues? They are issues that exist at the system level, not the individual level; changing the behaviour of the individuals within the system will not make the issue go away.

What does this mean for burnout in Open Source? While there are actions that individual developers can take to protect themselves from burnout, these actions won’t change the conditions that make burnout a threat in the first place.

To disarm the threat of burnout in Open Source, we need system change! This is not something any one individual can achieve on their own.

Fortunately, the OSS community excels at recognising the value of collaboration. Open Source thrives on the idea that we can achieve more by working openly together than by working alone.

In fact, there are already lots of people working on structural solutions to the issues that lead to burnout in Open Source! I've put together a list highlighting the problem they are trying to solve, how they are solving it, and how you can get involved.

This is a living list! Please reach out if you know of any people or projects that should feature. Together, we can tackle burnout in Open Source at its roots.



Making it easier for developers to get paid

These groups are working on ways of securing reliable and sufficient funding for developers, making it easier to make a living while creating and maintaining OSS.



Advocating for wider adoption and funding of OSS

These groups work on building bridges between the OSS community, industry and government. Their work raises awareness of the value of OSS and the importance of pitching in to preserve our digital commons.

General Advocacy

Advocating to Industry

Political Advocacy

UK-specific



Researching developers’ needs

These groups and individuals are doing research that can help us better understand and meet OSS developers’ needs. From understanding software dependencies better so we can identify the keystone maintainers we rely on the most, to shedding a light on the kind of help maintainers want and need.

Building knowledge of software dependencies

Building knowledge of project needs



Exploring governance options

These groups and individuals research and write about different governance models for different sizes and shapes of OSS project. The right kind of governance could help share the responsibility for maintenance tasks and protect developers’ autonomy, reducing their risk of burnout. (It feels like there is a lack of research here—are you in a position to conduct some of your own? Or to share your own experiences of governance practices with the OSS community?)



Improving community health

These groups and individuals are doing things that help build a healthy OSS community. This includes activities that bring developers together to talk about and address the common issues they face in OSS together, building empathy, identification and solidarity. It includes improving access to coaching and mental health support. It also includes initiatives that help get more people, from a range of different backgrounds, feeling confident and comfortable joining the community and contributing to Open Source.

Holding events and community spaces

Encouraging participation from diverse groups

Improving access to coaching and mental health support



Lessening the burden of maintenance work

These groups and organisations are working on solutions to the burden of maintenance work, making workflows more efficient and helping speed up triage and code review.