GitLab's recent virtual event, GitLab Transcend, spotlighted the growing challenges engineers face in managing modern technology stacks. These stacks now involve multiple clouds, databases, and AI-driven systems, leading to a significant increase in complexity. Engineers are no longer just focused on system uptime; they’re now tasked with handling an overwhelming amount of security-related responsibilities. As a result, many report high levels of stress and burnout, with nearly two-thirds of engineers acknowledging this in the 2024 State of Engineering Management Report. The article identifies "access chaos" as a major contributor to this burnout. Engineers juggle various security credentials and compliance requirements, often using a disjointed mix of scripts and manual processes. This fragmentation complicates their work, leading to frequent interruptions caused by issues like expired tokens and broken permissions. The real problem isn’t strict security measures but the scattered nature of identity management across systems. Traditional methods that rely on long-lived secrets only exacerbate the situation, increasing the risk of exposure and compliance challenges. To combat these issues, a unified identity strategy is necessary. This involves eliminating shared accounts and ensuring each entity has a unique identity from a single source. By implementing cryptographically verifiable identities and adopting attribute-based access control (ABAC), organizations can streamline access permissions and reduce the administrative burden on engineering teams. ABAC allows for dynamic permissions based on context, which cuts down on manual approval processes and enhances overall security. With these changes, teams can reclaim their focus and significantly reduce interruptions, leading to a healthier work environment for engineers.