RE: how to prevent DBA burnout?

Chris Taylor
Sr. Oracle DBA
Ingram Barge Company
Nashville, TN 37205
Office: 615-517-3355
Cell: 615-354-4799
Email: chris.taylor_at_ingrambarge.com  

From: oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org
[mailto:oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org] On Behalf Of Jerry Cunningham Sent: Monday, March 30, 2009 8:45 AM
To: Oracle L
Subject: how to prevent DBA burnout?

Hi all...  

I came across this question on twitter
(http://twitter.com/Michael_Corey). How do you prevent DBA burnout?  

I know there are a lot of smart people on this list - any thoughts? I replied via my blog (more than 140 chars!)... here are my 2 cents:  

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1. Communicate with them regularly. Forget business/corporate formality - everybody you work with is simply a person. From the security guard at the front desk to the CEO. How is life? Are you happy? What is stressing you out? If there are problems, what can I do to help?
2. Don't forget how hard it is to find good people. At a previous job, when interviewing for a vacancy, I had interviewed for weeks without a promising candidate. This made me realize how good the people we had were, and I told them so. I told them, that while they were working harder due to the staffing shortage, I was not going to settle for less than the high standard they had set.
3. If somebody resigns (and you value them) - make them a counter offer immediately. It amazes me how often this does not happen. Or, the employee is asked "what can I do to keep you?". Too vague - make a concrete offer.

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Jerry
http://jerrycunningham.wordpress.com
<http://jerrycunningham.wordpress.com/>  

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