Perks Don’t Fix Burnout — People Do

Burnout doesn’t always look like someone staring into the abyss at 3 a.m. under flickering fluorescent lights. Sometimes it’s quieter. A subtle withdrawal. A calendar filled with meetings, and a Slack that never feels safe. It’s the creeping feeling that no one would notice if you disappeared — except when the sprint is due.

Belonging is more than free coffee

At its core, burnout is not just about overwork — it’s about emotional depletion. And one of the deepest reserves we draw from is our sense of belonging.

Psychologists like Maslow and Deci & Ryan (of Self-Determination Theory) have long shown that humans need connection to thrive. Not just team-building or standups. Actual connection. The kind where you feel safe asking a “dumb” question. The kind where someone pings you just to say, “Hey, that thing you built — it’s awesome.”

The loneliness of feeling replaceable

I once worked on a team where I shipped code daily, hit every metric, and still felt invisible. I got feedback, but it felt like QA. Everything was “good,” “fine,” “clean.” I wasn’t seen. Eventually, I found myself asking: “If I left tomorrow, would anything fall apart?”

That’s the trick. Burnout isn’t always the product of too much work. Sometimes, it’s the result of doing work that feels like it could be done by anyone.

The illusion of “culture”

Many companies try to solve this with perks. Pizza Fridays. Branded hoodies. A Slack channel for dog photos. These aren’t bad — but they’re not belonging. Culture isn’t defined by what you add to the calendar. It’s defined by what people feel safe saying out loud.

A real culture of belonging is one where:

Junior devs speak up without rehearsing

Mistakes are owned without shame

Successes are shared without ego

And yes — where people are paid what they’re worth.

Underpaid and emotionally overdrawn

This part gets ignored in most burnout conversations: compensation matters.

You can’t ask someone to bring their whole self to work and then shortchange them. That’s not culture — it’s exploitation wrapped in a company-branded fleece.

People will sometimes stay for belonging even when the money’s not great. But that only lasts so long. Over time, underpayment erodes morale. It turns loyalty into regret. And eventually, it turns a good teammate into someone too tired to care.

What actually works

Belonging isn’t magic. It’s not even that expensive. It just requires intentionality. Here’s what I’ve seen work:

Recognition without ceremony. A quick “great job” in a thread goes further than a quarterly award.

Spaces for vulnerability. Let people ask questions and share uncertainty without fear of performance review backlash.

Pay audits. If you believe in equity, check if you’re actually doing it.

Cross-functional friendships. Encourage connections outside of immediate teams.

Final thought

Burnout is complex, but we make it worse when we ignore the simple truths: people want to be valued, seen, and paid fairly. Belonging isn’t a luxury — it’s the emotional infrastructure of any healthy team.

If your team feels burnt out, ask: do they feel safe? Do they feel seen? And are they being paid like they matter?

Because if not, no amount of coffee or culture decks is going to fix it.