Why would you say "I was burnt out and needed a break" anyways?
I wouldn't say that. I thought that was clear from my asking the question in the first place. There are many things you can say that sound like slacking to someone who has never taken a sabbatical. People who have never been in a position to take extended time off often get envious of those who have done so and attribute the willingness to do so to being unmotivated by work, less of a team player, and other things that get you laughed out of a fast-paced, dog-eat-dog world. So if you say "I had some goals and I couldn't meet them while I was working full time", I might hear "I don't play by your rules and so I took some time off to go play". Yeah, I know. Not a fair paraphrasing, but that happens!
I took over a year off work once and had a difficult time getting back into a high paying career until I changed the story to include timing that seemed more palatable to hiring managers. I downplayed the aspects that were enjoyable and focused on the productive and difficult portions.
For instance, I had a successful career until the company I worked for closed its doors and shut down. I immediately took another job at a world class company, and 6 weeks later, that company became world famous for a giant fraud and failure and also went out of business. I had another job offer within a week, but before that materialized, the company went into a hiring freeze. Then 9/11 happened, which made me reassess some things. I had been very active volunteering over the previous few years, and an opportunity came up for me to work on a project overseas, and that sounded like a great way to shake things up even though I knew it was not long term.
By this time in the interview, I've been talking long enough and I'm animated enough, that no one asks details so no one cares that the project overseas was 100%volunteer that was in no way related to my field. They also don't notice that a 1 month assignment turned into 6months of travel.
Now if I'm thinking of taking another break (that may not be permanent), the same reasons and stories would not apply. So I'm wondering if when others have re-entered their career, did they have to stretch the truth or downplay aspects of their time off? What reasons were given for long absences, etc?
In a highly competitive market in an industry where employers expect you to be their wage slaves, if I were to use your example ender, it wouldn't fly because all the hiring manager would hear is "wha! I needed some 'me' time." It's important to remember that in some very competitive workplaces, we are seen as the crybabies because we don't think we shouldnt have to work 80hours per week. So sometimes to get the job we want, we have to disguise ourselves as someone who lives for work!