Developer-Experience

The AI Burnout Paradox: When Productivity Tools Make Developers Miserable

Here’s an irony that nobody predicted: AI tools designed to make developers more productive are making some of them more miserable.

The promise was straightforward. AI handles the tedious parts of coding—boilerplate, repetitive patterns, documentation lookup—freeing developers to focus on the interesting, creative work. Less toil, more thinking. Less grinding, more innovating.

The reality is more complicated. Research shows that GenAI adoption is heightening burnout by increasing job demands rather than reducing them. Developers report cognitive overload, loss of flow state, rising performance expectations, and a subtle but persistent feeling that their work is being devalued.