The 6 Week Build Season and 'Mentor Burnout'

[Tom Ore]

Originally Posted by Nemo

If we don't start until the last minute, how is a longer build season increasing burnout?

I think we're mixing different issues here. My take on the mentor burnout issue was that some teams are doing more work than they should be in the time available and that leads to burnout. The proposed solution is to give them more time, they'll keep the amount of work the same, hours per unit time goes down, and burnout reduces. Some say they would stop building a practice bot which reduces the total work. Other say they would still build a practice bot to reduce wear and tear on the competition bot.

Overall, I'm not convinced it will have significant effect on burnout. The burnout is driven more by a desire to be competitive than by the task at hand. There will always be ways to push yourself harder to be competitive.

The other issue is how to best help consistently under performing teams. The "give them more time" argument fits nicely in this thread. However, as some have pointed out, it isn't necessarily that easy. In general we don't know what drives these teams. If they are in a place they are happy with, feel they are inspiring their students, they may not need help. Others may need help but don't know how to get it. Time may or may not be an issue.