I'm a senior endpoint engineer responsible for SCCM, Intune, and occasional AVD work across more than 40 countries for a global law firm. Our team has only two people, while many local administrators have limited experience with Active Directory, SCCM, or Intune. I'm leading a migration from hybrid-joined, co-managed devices to Entra-joined, Intune-managed devices, even though very little Intune configuration exists today.
The workload has become overwhelming. I regularly work more than 40 hours a week without meaningful breaks, and I'm expected to cover a huge environment with little staffing or support. I've created documentation, trained colleagues, and tried to improve the organization, but I feel ignored and disrespected. I'm paid well by the hour, but the company has effectively increased my workload instead of hiring enough people.
I'm a contractor, so taking time off costs me money, but I'm struggling to get out of bed. Basic tasks like showering, brushing my teeth, and eating can feel difficult. I'm married, dealing with taxes, unhappy at work, and already seeing a therapist. I have ADHD and am discussing anxiety and other symptoms with my doctor, although I'm hesitant about medication.
I want to finish enough of the Windows 10-to-11 and SCCM-to-Intune migrations to leave the environment in a reasonable state, but I'm afraid I'm sacrificing my health to do it. I've also started laying the groundwork for an Azure-focused consulting or MSP business, though I don't have clients yet. Should I leave immediately, take a proper break, set firmer boundaries, or try to finish the migration first? I'm open to honest advice about recovery, changing jobs, and whether IT is still the right path for me.
5 Answers
Two people supporting more than 40 countries is a structural failure, not a personal failure on your part. You’re trying to compensate for years of poor planning, and the organization will still have a problem after you leave. Start looking for another role now rather than treating the migration as a personal obligation. Endpoint and modern workplace experience should transfer well to a healthier employer. Take whatever time off you can realistically afford, and stop making the company’s staffing problem your responsibility.
You’re being paid for a specialized skill, not for unlimited availability. Working from the moment you wake up until late afternoon without breaks is not sustainable, even at a high hourly rate. Take a vacation or medical break if your doctor recommends it, and don’t let the fact that you’re a contractor convince you that losing billable hours is worse than losing your health. The company will have to manage the support gap; that is a business continuity issue, not something one exhausted engineer can fix alone.
This may not mean you need to leave IT. It may mean you need to leave this particular environment. A role with a reasonable workload and a supportive manager could make endpoint engineering interesting again. Your experience with large-scale Windows migrations, identity, configuration management, and Intune is valuable. I’d avoid launching a consulting business while severely depleted; keep the groundwork if it helps, but stabilize your health and income first.
A break can also help you decide whether you want consulting or simply need distance from this employer. Making that choice while exhausted could turn another promising idea into another source of pressure.
The difficulty with eating, showering, and basic self-care sounds like more than ordinary workplace frustration. Please discuss those symptoms directly with your doctor and therapist, including how hopeless and depleted you feel. You don’t have to agree to medication, but you should keep an open conversation with a medical professional about the options. If you feel unsafe or think you might hurt yourself, seek urgent local help or contact emergency services immediately. Your health needs attention before you make major business or career decisions.
I’m already seeing a therapist and have spoken with my doctor. I’ve tended to push through until I have nothing left, so I’m trying to take the symptoms more seriously instead of treating them as just another busy period.
Create a hard transition plan rather than trying to complete everything. Document the current state, identify the highest-risk items, convert only the most important policies and configurations, and clearly record what remains. A written handover is enough; you do not need to personally solve every future Intune, Autopilot, or patching problem. Set working hours, stop volunteering extra time, and let the resulting gaps become visible to leadership. If you’re a contractor, check your agreement and consider whether the client or contracting company has any health, leave, or escalation process available.
That’s the part I struggle with. I want to leave behind a workable co-managed environment, but I’m realizing I may never reach a natural stopping point. I’m going to start searching seriously instead of waiting for the project to feel complete.