
Ask HN: How do you stop being a toxic employee? - brian_
I&#x27;ve seen it happen.  For whatever reason, an employee starts to get frustrated.  Fatigue, burnout, mounting responsibilities, etc.  They start to become visibly discontent, turning down happy hours, pushing back hard on anything not within the scope of their job, maybe even dropping off-the-cuff remarks about other employees or managers.  This type of negative attitude feeds upon itself as they look at the world through shit-colored glasses.<p>Have you ever been here and successfully lifted out of it?  How do you stop the burning and begin to heal?  Without quitting or being fired.  How do you repair your relationships with other co-workers at the organization?
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aerophilic
Assuming you are talking for another employee, I would recommend giving them
either a Sabbatical or a very long vacation. If neither of those are options,
I would recommend fundamentally changing their role so they are handling
things in a completely different way.

However, it might be worth understanding _why_ they are burnt out. Is your
organization is set up so they have to be the "super hero" all the time? Are
they not getting the recognition they deserve? Burn out happens, most of us
have been there. Sometimes it is worth burning out employees for a short term
goal, but you have to accept that there is a real long term cost to recover.

Note: If you _are_ that burned out employee, you need to first recognize _why_
you are burned out. Was it because of a big push, or is this structural in
your organization? Then you need to ask, is it worth it to stay? If it truly
is worth it, try to give yourself a "mental break". Either through a
sabbatical/long vacation, or by doing a completely different job for awhile.
If neither is possible, maybe it _is_ time for a new opportunity.

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wmf
In theory you should take a sabbatical but your company doesn't allow that so
you should just quit.

