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Comment by alexcnwy | Hacker News Reader

Tell the founders you’re burned out and need to take 2 weeks off.

The insidious thing about burnout is you can’t think clearly when you’re burned out. I’ve been heavily burned out twice and I can relate to just wanting to work in a bar or something but after a couple weeks off you’ll be able to think clearly again. Worst case it’s 2 weeks of paid leave before you quit, best case you come back grateful for the opportunity and recharged.

Your team lead sounds like a pain in the ass, the founders would probably get rid of them instead of you if you gave them an ultimatum but my advice would be to take time out before you do anything rash.

Good luck!

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Never ever tell anyone you have a burn out. You'd be viewed as tainted and news will propagate quickly through founders' network, likely making you unhireable in the process. Instead say you are bored with the asshole claiming your credit and that you want either somebody else as your boss or be the boss, and support it with work you did. Make this choice non-negotiable.

You sound paranoid. There’s nothing wrong with a 20-something admitting they need a bit of a rest after working really hard for a few years.

I’ve had an employee tell me they’re exhausted and need time out and I definitely didn’t “propagate need to my network” about them. That would be a serious breach of trust. I’ve also hired an engineer who told me they just came off a burnout and they were great.

This fear of vulnerability is part of the problem - it’s ok to be burned out and need a bit of a rest.

Maybe you are an exception, but most companies run on dominance hierarchy and once you are labelled as "weak", you are done. In general, my advice is much more solid and understanding of reality than yours, but I'd likely want to work for/with a person like you much more.

Are you just referring to FAANG silicon valley circle jerks? You must be? Ain't nobody in large companies taking advice from some manager who leaked mental health information about an employee. I think you're working in a very circle jerk world and/or completely paranoid. Even if what you said is true, it's illegal and unethical.

Existing rules in effect are different to those that are publicly adhered to. As the saying goes, "in theory there is no difference between theory and practice, in practice there is."

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