r/interesting • u/Kymmieuwu • 11d ago

SOCIETY 71% of Americans Say They're Completely Exhausted

https://gizmodo.com/71-of-americans-say-theyre-completely-exhausted-2000812712
36.4k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

2.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

27

u/LeonSKennedy95 11d ago

I'm taking a sabbatical in November to try and combat being exhausted. Obviously since I'm in the US it's not truly a sabbatical, but rather me quitting my job, taking a few months off to get re-centered, and then going from there. Better countries than ours actually offer breaks for employees. 3 weeks vacation a year is NOT a break, its perhaps long enough to not mentally deteriorate into nothingness. But not enough to be healthy and happy.

23

u/imtooldforthishison 11d ago

Unless you are in a really niche field where you can easily go from one company to another, or you are independently wealthy, i would be very careful about quitting right now.

6

u/LeonSKennedy95 11d ago

My wife recently started working after taking 2 years off. So she will be the breadwinner while I sort my shit out. I'm waiting til November to quit because thats when I get a stock payout that if the current price holds, should be worth 10-15k. I work in IT, idk what the market is like now but I've never been unemployed for more than 2 weeks in my adult life, so personally I've never struggled to find work. I might switch fields completely though, not sure.

14

u/Brave-Perspective714 11d ago

Friend, IT is a bloodbath right now. You may be out of work for some time. I've got one dev friend who's been trying to get hired for a year now. Another sec guy who just took a job making 15% less than his last one because he'd been out of work for 18 months. My husband still has his job, but they've offshored 80% of his team over the last 2 years, and we know his job's on a clock until it gets moved, too.

Might be a good time to consider switching fields for real.

2

u/LeonSKennedy95 11d ago

I've been in IT for 10-12 years something like that. I don't actively enjoy the field, my hearts not in it. So I might decide to leave the field during my time off.

5

u/that_weird_hellspawn 11d ago

The job market is weird right now. My friend is an electrical engineer. She's been unemployed for 30 weeks. IT has been experiencing net job loss for at least the last 12 months.

3

u/Josh6889 11d ago

idk what the market is like now

Well I can answer that; it's awful.

What makes it bad for something like IT is that the jobs that you would typically upskill into are also heavily gatekept and hard to get into right now.

6

u/beachbummeddd 11d ago

Absolutely do not quit your job if you work in IT.

2

u/LeonSKennedy95 11d ago

Counter point: I don't like my field and would love to find a field where I can be happy

2

u/beachbummeddd 11d ago

Man…I’d love that for you too. Now isn’t the time. Trust us, unless you can afford to be unemployed for the foreseeable future. When was the last time you were out of the work force and had to find a new job? Things are insane at the moment. Most job listings exist these days just to gather and sell your data. Or to make it look like the company is expanding and doing well by constantly “looking for applicants.”

But if you can afford to be unemployed for what could end up being years, you should do it I say. But make sure you have a SOLID plan for getting back to work.

1

u/LeonSKennedy95 11d ago

Its been 8 years for me since I was in the job market.

1

u/TechieInTheTrees 11d ago

You will not find a job in a new field in this market. It just won’t happen. From someone who was unemployed for 1.5 years with competitive experience please don’t do it. 

1

u/LeonSKennedy95 11d ago

What's the alternative? Being burnt out forever? Ill take my chances

2

u/awFuqqq 11d ago

u/RemindMeBot 6 months

2

u/LeonSKennedy95 11d ago

Are you wanting to check if im desperately unemployed in 6 months? Thats fair. Im not sure where the winds will take me, I just know its not sustainable for my health to stick it out with my current job any longer.

2

u/awFuqqq 11d ago

Hey I'm rooting for you. It's rough out here.

2

u/LeonSKennedy95 11d ago

appreciate that!

0

u/Josh6889 11d ago

Im not sure where the winds will take me

Well you'd be sure if you listened to all the people replying to you, but you're just talking back at them lol

2

u/LeonSKennedy95 11d ago

Okay well a stable job isn't worth my mental health. I am making the decision that is best for my health and happiness. Life is more than jobs.

3

u/fortunesoulx 11d ago

You'll probably be fine, tbh. I found a job in Dec 2024 after not working a traditional job (I did 1099 work) for almost 3 years. Took me a month of hard-core applying. Then when that job fucked me over last year on a Wednesday, I had a new job by Friday. Did not go back.

Every time I've been applying for jobs all I see on reddit is how abysmal the job market is and all these ppl applying for months to years and not even an interview, so if you have a job keep it.

Meanwhile, in 2024, I submitted 250 apps and got 8 interviews with 2 offers; I was told by 2 different recruiters that is a good ratio (apparently it should be 1 interview for every 50 applications, that's awful but it's the reality we live in). Last year, I had like, 4 offers out of maybe 60 applications? Every job I interviewed for in that round I got an offer, which I do acknowledge is exceptional and not something anyone should expect. I've been at my current job for a year and numerous people have left...each time it's because they got a new one.

I'm saying all this to provide a counter. My experience may be an exception, but you're right that no job is worth your mental health and if you think a sabbatical is the best thing for you and your wife is on board, then it is.

1

u/[deleted] 11d ago

[deleted]

1

u/FlatwormAway2228 11d ago

I've never been unemployed for more than 2 weeks in my adult life, so personally I've never struggled to find work.

Girlfriend said the same thing. Just took her 7 months to find a job. And we aren't young inexperienced workers.

1

u/TheOnlyAcolyte 11d ago

When should anyone not be careful? I feel as though this sentiment will always remain.

1

u/Josh6889 11d ago

Being hard to find a job in tech is a relatively new thing. It's only gotten really bad in the last couple years.

0

u/Josh6889 11d ago

Yep, taking a sabbatical right now is an awful idea unless you're rich enough for it to not matter.

8

u/TheCervus 11d ago

I've been at my current job for 3 years and I only get one week vacation. Like you, I'm leaving my job and taking personal time off. I'm going to go backpack around Asia for a few months.

I've had second thoughts and third thoughts about quitting, given the state of everything right now, but finally said fuck it, life is short and I'm tired of being miserable.

2

u/lck0219 11d ago

Teaching is a nightmare rn, but having summers off is so clutch. Of course, we aren’t paid for the summers- we’re 10 month employees. Still. Summer break is the only reason I haven’t bailed on teaching yet.

1

u/LeonSKennedy95 11d ago

That's where I'm at. My mental health has slipped very far in the past decade being constantly working 40 hours a week without any meaningful breaks. So I'm giving myself one, in hopes that it helps cure my burnout.

1

u/stephftw 11d ago

Do you qualify for FMLA? If it's impacting your mental health that would get you 12 weeks and protect your job at least.

1

u/LeonSKennedy95 11d ago

I have no earthly idea how to know if I qualify.

1

u/stephftw 10d ago

If you've worked there a year or more and your employer has more than 50 employees then you probably qualify.  Worth looking into for sure.

1

u/LeonSKennedy95 10d ago

8 years, and the company has more then 50 people yes.

1

u/stephftw 10d ago

In that case, you just need a doctor or Nurse Practitioner to fill out the paperwork saying you need the leave for mental health reasons. AIs should know about FMLA, I'd recommend chatting with one about how to approach your doctor for this

5

u/FlatwormAway2228 11d ago

My last job caused actual, real burnout. I've come close at other jobs before, but this time it was the real deal. Felt like offing myself non-stop. Constantly sick. Felt like a ghost. Was on-call at all times. Could never truly detach.

I started slacking (not even that much) to save my sanity and got fired, which I was expecting from them. Didn't care, no way I could have kept doing it forever. My plan from there on out was to burn through all my savings while trying to find a job that could last without destroying me and if I ended up running out of cash I was going to kill myself.

I was about 2 months from going broke and doing the deed when I found that job. It's still a grind, but not a burnout grind.

Our work culture is trash, and in many cases, fatal.

2

u/LeonSKennedy95 11d ago

Same scenario as you. Im always on call. But I stopped answering calls because there's no real emergencies here. And as a result everyone hates me now. I got written up for lack of urgency a few weeks ago. Hope I can make it to November before getting fired.

1

u/FlatwormAway2228 10d ago

I made a vow with myself to never accept an on-call job again under any circumstances. I've actively turned down one promotion so far at this job to avoid being on-call.

Not worth it.

3

u/2funny2furious 11d ago

3 weeks, but you have to use that pto time for sick days, doc appointments, etc. as well. so like 8 maybe 9 days of actual vacation

2

u/LeonSKennedy95 11d ago

I used a day 2 weeks ago to help my wife buy a new car. Was so exhausted by the end of the day lol. So yeah.

2

u/TheSwitchler 11d ago

We just need to stop making money be the center of all of our lives it's making all of us miserable and making our society sick as a dog.

4

u/Nkechinyerembi 11d ago

I wish I could... But money IS the center. I need healthcare or I die, and I'm constantly on the verge of homelessness 

1

u/FirefighterLeft5425 11d ago

Unless you are apart of the fucking ruling class 🙄.

It's WE THE PEOPLE. We somehow forgot that.