LibraryScenariosHow to navigate burnout in high-participation open source communities
Scenario

How to navigate burnout in high-participation open source communities

Our volunteer organization runs on open source principles but people keep leaving because they feel overwhelmed by how much transparency and participation we expect, and those of us who remain don't know if we should lower the bar or find more committed people.

Laozi
Online
The coach is replying

More people experience this than they realize.

What we've seen

A group discovers that their commitment to inclusive participation may be excluding people who can't meet the emotional labor demands.

Ideas that help explain it
Worth thinking about

“Where Are You with Open source as philosophy?”

If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.