Interviews and career
How to tell your boss you are burned out
You do not need to diagnose yourself or describe how you feel in detail. Say what has changed in your work over the past few months, how it affects results and what specific change you are asking for. A conversation about workload and boundaries is easier for both sides than a general “I cannot cope”.
How to handle this conversation
Describe the change, not the state
“For six months I have regularly worked evenings and weekends, and I am still doing more and more things at the last minute.” Facts are easier to take in than a general complaint.
Come with a specific ask
For example: handing over one project, no more being on call after six or two weeks without new tasks. “I need us to decide together what comes off my list.”
Do not let a vacation close the topic
Time off helps, but it does not change the workload. “I am happy to take time off, but if everything stays the same when I am back, we will be here again in a month.”
Agree on a review
Set a date to check whether the changes are working. Without one, the conversation easily becomes a one-off listening session.
I am telling my boss I am burned out
- Difficulty
- Medium to hard
- Duration
- 10-15 minutes
The situation
For several months you have been working longer than usual, and work that used to satisfy you drains you more and more. You are short on energy and the quality of your work is starting to slip. It is not about one new task but about a way of working that has gone on too long. You set up a one-to-one with your manager to change something.
Who you talk to
Your manager
Kind, but she works a lot herself and sees it as normal. First she plays it down (“we are all in a busy period”), then offers a week off as the fix and avoids talking about lasting changes to your workload.
The counterpart also has private goals and information that are never shown upfront. You discover them only through the conversation, the same way you would in real life.
What makes it hard
- Your manager reduces the topic to temporary tiredness.
- The quick offer of a vacation tempts you to stop there.
- She asks whether you are sure you can handle the role.
Your goals
- Describe the situation with facts, without playing it down or dramatizing
- Make a specific request to change your workload or boundaries
- Agree on what changes and when you will revisit it
What the report looks at
- Whether your description is based on facts and effects on the work
- Whether you make a specific request rather than just a complaint
- How you respond to the downplaying and the offer of time off alone
- Whether the conversation ends with an agreement and a review date