Bsides Edmonton 2025 Burnout, Layoffs, and the Silent Crisis: Mental Health in Technology

Burnout, Layoffs, and the Silent Crisis: Navigating Mental Health in Tech Today with Derran Guinan, Joshua Byrne, Michelle Balderson, Rick Byrne, Rita Tippe The IT industry continues to evolve at breakneck speed—embracing innovation, navigating AI disruption, and weathering waves of global layoffs. Beneath the surface, a silent crisis is growing. Burnout, technostress, job insecurity, and workplace isolation are no longer fringe issues—they’re shaping the experience of tech professionals at every level. In this year’s Mental Health Panel, we bring together IT leaders, mental health advocates, and lived-experience voices to explore the complex emotional terrain of working in tech in 2025. We’ll unpack how economic uncertainty, toxic productivity, and “resenteeism” are impacting professionals today. We’ll also discuss tangible strategies for fostering resilience, creating psychologically safe workplaces, and advocating for better mental health support—both organizationally and personally.

This panel is for everyone in tech—from those silently struggling to those supporting others—offering honest, stigma-free conversation about what it means to be human in a high-performance industry.

Takeaways:

Understand emerging mental health trends affecting the tech sector in 2025 Learn how layoffs, automation, and remote work reshape psychological well-being Explore strategies to build personal resilience and advocate for systemic change Gain insight from real stories and shared experiences in our local tech community

This video was captured using a locked-down, unmanned camera. As a result, there may be moments when speakers are not fully in the camera shot. Additionally, the audio quality captured by the podium microphone is dependent on the proximity of the speaker to the mic. This means that variations in audio clarity may occur if the speaker moves away from the microphone during their presentation. We appreciate your understanding of these technical aspects.

Derran Guinan
Field CTO · Americas

Field CTO for the Americas at Veeam. 30+ years in IT and cybersecurity. I write about data protection, security architecture, and AI from the field — honest takes for practitioners, not press releases.

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