Techie's cry for ‘purpose on weekends' sparks conversation on identity burnout in corporate life. Netizens say, ‘you're not alone'

Time of India

04-05-2025

It started with a simple, soul-baring post on Reddit's r/developersIndia — a backend Java developer with five years of experience posed an honest, quietly devastating question:
"What do you work on during weekends?"
But what followed wasn't just a list of tech hacks or productivity tips. It was an outpouring of emotion from a generation of developers grappling with an unsettling truth: when your job defines your worth, what remains when the deadlines vanish?
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The original poster (OP) laid bare their paradox. Proficient in Spring, problem-solving, and software design, they enjoy coding at work — and yet, weekends hit like a void. 'I think of building solutions,' they wrote, 'but everything already exists.' Even the idea of learning something new is clouded by the existential question:
What's the point, if AI can just generate it anyway?
This spiral of doubt — not quite burnout, not quite boredom — captured something deeper. The post struck a nerve, quickly garnering hundreds of responses. What emerged wasn't just advice. It was a mirror held up to the modern tech worker's soul.
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The most upvoted comment didn't mince words. 'You're not struggling with
weekend productivity
,' it declared. 'You're struggling with the fact that you've let your job become your entire identity.' It echoed a discomfort many professionals have long internalized: a life so tightly tethered to work that the absence of structure feels like a crisis of self.
The comment hit a nerve for a reason. With hybrid work models and always-on connectivity, the lines between personal and professional lives have blurred into oblivion. And for many in tech, particularly developers, their skills are not just tools — they're personas. So, when there's no Jira ticket to solve, no deployment deadline to meet, a frightening question arises:
Who am I outside of all this?
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Another user chimed in with a different angle, asking a question that feels all too familiar:
'Do you still have energy on weekends?'
Even those who enjoy their jobs find themselves drained by Friday evening, marooned on their couch, endlessly scrolling, trapped between guilt and inertia.
Yet others responded with long, impassioned lists of books, skills, and tools to master — from Isaac Asimov's
I, Robot
and Robert Greene's psychological deep-dives, to Blender 3D design and shell scripting. 'Be so good at making your computer work for you,' urged one commenter, turning the weekend into a personal renaissance project. The implicit message:
You're not stuck — you're sleeping on the best version of yourself.
iStock
Even those who enjoy their jobs find themselves drained by Friday evening, marooned on their couch, endlessly scrolling, trapped between guilt and inertia.
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Still, not every response was a call to optimize. One user took the liberating route: 'Find a
hobby
. For me it's biking and gaming.' Another suggested contributing to open-source projects, combining passion with purpose — a subtle reminder that growth doesn't always need to be monetized or strategic.
In the age of AI, where generative tools can whip up code, design, and even content in seconds, developers are questioning not just
what
they should learn — but
why
. The very foundations of craftsmanship are shifting, leaving even seasoned professionals disoriented.
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But perhaps the most compelling takeaway from the thread wasn't a solution, but a sentiment:
You're not alone in this strange, searching phase of your career.
And maybe, just maybe, weekends are not for productivity at all — but for rediscovering joy, meaning, and an identity untethered from your job title.
The Algorithm Can't Tell You Who You Are
What began as one developer's quiet confession has now evolved into a rallying cry of sorts — a digital bonfire where coders and creators gather not to fix bugs, but to confront bigger glitches within.
The post might fade from Reddit's homepage soon, replaced by the next trending topic. But its resonance lingers. In the silence of our weekends, it asks us to confront something louder than any Slack ping:
Who are we when we're not 'doing' anything?
And in a world run increasingly by algorithms, that might be the most human question of all.