Once again - the short answer is no.
But this needs some elaboration.

Clearly if a role or career is mismatched and is making a person unwell - something has to change.
But big decisions are not best made from within a burnout bubble. This is due to the fact that burnout affects decision making and it is all too easy to assume that career change or jumping ship is the best way forwards ( to get away from the pain as fast as possible).

This however can leave a person in a financially vulnerable position.

In general if burnout exists the plan needs to be first - reverse the burnout and then.... as part of the ongoing sustainability plan a change of role might well at that point be both advisable and more easily brought about too. Attempting career or job changes whilst in the midst of burnout is ill advised because not only does it require quite a lot of energy and effort ( something a burnt out person does not have - they are running on empty!) but future employers can occasionally spot burnout and get put off.


So in general  we do not recommend resignation.

Leaving the role may be the right choice somewhere down the line but to use resignation as a solution for burnout is just the wrong way round. And what is more - the burnout still follows the person to their next role or even prevents a next role being found. 

The short answer to this is yes.

But some explanation is worth sharing

Sick leave does have a place but.....as part of a sound, well structured approach to taking burnout seriously and realising that it needs reversing. Merely getting allocated repeated episodes of sick leave or sequential sick leave ( when the burnout is not mending)  are not generally helpful and may even help to embed burnout further or at times can make the burnout worse and more difficult to shift.

So the wholesale use of sick leave in burnout management needs to be seriously questioned.

What is needed is a plan - in which sick leave may or may not need to play a part. 
We call this "strategic burnout management" and it requires that all aspects of burnout are evaluated.

The longer burnout has been lurking and the more severe it is - the more likely it is that someone may need some sick leave.

BUT - Sick leave is NOT a treatment for nor a cure for burnout