When I switched jobs a few years back, I intentionally took a 6 week break between roles. My new manager wanted me to start right away, but I pushed back and said "no". This was after working a job that had me doing 60-80 hr weeks for months on end.

I set it up so I had zero obligations at the start - no vacations planned, no "to do" lists. I would get up in the morning and ask myself "what do I need to get done today?" and the answer was "nothing". It was really glorious.

After a couple weeks of doing whatever I wanted - reading, going for a walk, meeting a friend for coffee, I felt my background anxiety level had diminished a lot. Then I started into the phase of "what do I want to get done before I start working again". None of it was "must do", but rather cleaning up the garden, fixing the car, taking care of financial paperwork. The next few weeks felt incredibly low pressure and highly productive.

It's a great way to get into a healthy mindset, at least for me.

I like this. Definitely will aim for this between now and my next job.

I do this every time I change job. It is so freaking awesome. The last time I did this I just wanted it to continue for longer... For my last job, my soon-to-be manager in the 50s told me that she had only ever had a week end in between her impressive list of jobs. I knew right then that I was going to hate my manager.

I was laid off near the tail end of a very stressful, deadline driven project and it actually came as a huge relief. Luckily I had money saved and took my time (about 3 months) looking for the next job. Was also given 2 months severance, so I didn't even end up losing much income. By end of my time off I was getting bored and happy to be working on something new. Highly recommended.

A layoff could come as a blessing sometimes, especially if you're not in the middle of other problems. As devs we're still privileged to be able to do this. For many a layoff comes as dreadful news.

One of my favorite benefits was the ability to take a 3 month paid pseudo-sabbatical.

You had to spend the time doing some sort of work, but it's flexible. It could helping another team out (intern style), focusing on a useful side project, taking a trial run at a new role (or just walking a mile in someone else's shoes), or volunteering with a non-profit ("technology pro bono").

You needed 5 years of tenure to qualify (it's not an annual thing). I think the bar is a little too high, but I understand the intent – looking forward to it was definitely a source of motivation and factor in retention during my fourth year.

Would you still continue to go to the office then, just working on a different team/project?

Seems like a really great idea, but I completely agree, five years seems like an eternity at a tech company.

Plenty of big companies allow you to do this. I know several people who have taken 1-3 month long unpaid vacation while at FAANG companies.

Sure, it takes some planning. You can't just do it tomorrow. But it seemed pretty easy for them.

I think the novel concept here is taking a three month unpaid vacation every year, which I doubt is common or easy in any tech company.

Personally, I would sooner go for a four-day work week, which would probably be an easier sell to most companies. Similarly, I would be fine with a pretty sizable pay cut for the benefit.

I know exactly what you mean - I've taken years off work to do with my time as I please, and I find that only people who have completely broken out of the cycle for 2+ months can relate. My biggest advice to you is to start searching for a new job now, and when you get offers make it clear you're only available to work 3 days a week (or 4, or 2, whatever you want).

It will take time and hard work, and it will pay off for the rest of your life.

Absolutely. We need to carve a new normal. I personally would be a lot more productive after a 3 months of rest. I asked my former employer if I could take some unpaid time off, and of course I was flexible on timing so that their impact was at a minimum. The answer was no.

Continuous delivery, amirite?

I would love to work for a company where I can take a significant pay cut to work 30 or even 35 hours in a typical work week.

I've heard (from reliable sources) that Google has the option to work 60% or 80% time (with a corresponding cut to pay). Presumably you need a record of solid performance and your manager needs to be on board.

It's very hard to get, even for solid performers. Possible but not available to most employees.

That's crazy, you guys need a union or something. It should be easy to negotiate that kind of thing even for people just starting. Everyone's life is different, everyone has different monetary goals and work availability/tolerances.

I'm sure this is obvious but that would exclude a huge group of people from the outset.

What is 100% time out of curiosity?

When I interviewed at Microsoft, they told me it was the norm to work 50-60 hours, and that's what they expected. I'm sure it could vary from group to group.... but fuck that.

38 hours is the standard work week in many countries, which I only mention to let you know that you are asking for a very normal thing. Totally reasonable.

You mean countries like Norway where pay for Senior Engineers is 1/4th and the income tax is around 45% (+25% VAT on after-tax income)?

Yes, but the OP wants less pay for less work which is fair but not an option at lots of tech companies.

So you either play the overwork game or don't get to play at all. That's all part of the golden handcuffs routine, along with stock holdings etc. Give your life to the company or bugger off, no middle ground.

That's why I wanted to point out that it's entirely reasonable. It's just a different work/life weighting, people should be able to still work in tech and not have an 80/hr week.

Independent contract work where you bill hourly is a thing in tech and lots of people are doing it. Also, I'm sure if you really look around and are willing to make compromises in terms of pay, you can negotiate all kinds of positions with all kinds of flexibility.

In this space, I see that most people don't have what they want, mostly because they're not REALLY willing to make those compromises. I see a lot of people saying these things but they mostly want everything on top of everything else they take for granted.

Certainly, when I burned out was when I decided to go independent. I waver between full time hours and part time hours, depending on the work/life split I'm after at the time, but it's all contract work.

Contracting has it's own set of challenges and it's distinct from a full-time job. I take on the risk and additional challenges of contracting in order to be able to manage my own time, but it's not for everyone.

I think you're right about compromise too. Working for FANG has become a bit of a social institution and I think some people get into the false assumption that FANG and startups are the only logical options in tech. If you're willing to compromise on location, salary and prestige, you can definitely find tech jobs outside of the various bubbles.

This, I just want to take a few months to focus on myself before going back to work, and that means quitting :(