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Many organizations are including sabbaticals or career breaks as part of their flexible working or staff benefits’ programs. They can play a part in promoting work-life balance and can also help retain and motivate employees. This article looks at the benefits of taking sabbaticals, and outlines some key considerations for organizations thinking of introducing sabbaticals into their work-life balance strategy.
What is a sabbatical? A sabbatical is a mutual agreement between an employee and their employer, whereby the employee is granted extended leave (paid, part-unpaid or unpaid) for a specified period of time, over and above their normal holiday entitlement.
The Benefits of Sabbaticals
People take sabbaticals for a number of reasons. The most common reason is travel, but other reasons can include voluntary work overseas, spending time with family, achieving a long held ambition (e.g. climbing Mount Everest or running the Great Wall of China), or large-scale home improvement projects. Offering sabbaticals or career breaks can have a number of benefits for the employer and the employee.
- It can be a cost-effective work-life balance initiative. Employees generally take unpaid leave, which can save organizations money when business is slow or workloads are less.
- It can help to reduce burnout and rejuvenate tired employees: employees return refreshed and ready for new projects and challenges.
- It can help with employee retention, especially for senior executives. For example, if people have worked for the same organization for 15 years, they may feel that it is time to leave, but if they took a six-month break from their job, they may decide to stay.
- It can help to provide opportunities for employees to acquire new skill sets to benefit the organization. Many employees use sabbaticals to work in not-for-profit organizations, where they need to get things done by using people skills such as motivation and persuasion. This can make them more effective managers when they return to work.
- It can be a good way of rewarding long service.
- It can be a way of giving employees the opportunity to spend time doing something that they really want to do, if their holiday entitlement is not enough, or without having to sacrifice their job security. For example traveling to distant places or spending time with their family.
- It can encourage career development, not only for the person taking the sabbatical, but also for the person taking on the job they vacate.
- It can benefit employees personally, as they can become happier, more confident and less stressed, and it can give them a new perspective on their lives.
Key Considerations
It is becoming increasingly popular for organizations to offer sabbaticals as a new benefit to employees who have worked for the organization for a certain length of time. However, there are a number of considerations that an organization will need to take into account before offering this as a benefit.
- Will the sabbatical be paid or unpaid leave? If unpaid time off is the only option, employees may be less inclined or able to take advantage of the offer. However it may be possible for them to take time off, while still retaining employee benefits or privileges such as pension plans, gym memberships and other corporate benefits.
- How long will employees be required to work for the organization before they can be offered a sabbatical? Based on this, how many employees will be eligible and what will the cost to the organization be? If costs are prohibitive, other ways to implement a sabbatical program could include paying a percentage of salary; or limiting the amount of time an individual can take off in any one year.
- Who will be responsible for taking on the duties and responsibilities of the people taking sabbaticals? The employee and their manager will need to decide who will cover their duties while they are gone, and what training they will need. It may be a good idea to have a handover period before the employee goes off on leave.
- Make sure that the organization fully supports extended leave. Have a fair and clear sabbatical policy stating maximum sabbatical period, eligibility and whether leave is paid or unpaid so that the whole workforce understands the policy. Without a leave-friendly culture, employees could be concerned about how they will be perceived if they take advantage of the option. This can undermine the morale of employees, who may feel that others resent them taking the time off.
- Have a process of capturing the learning when employees return from their sabbatical. Putting something formal in place will allow other employees to see the benefits, and will encourage them to take advantage of sabbaticals. It could involve employees presenting a report to their team, or writing about their experiences for a newsletter or in-house journal.
Implementing a sabbatical policy does have certain challenges. There is always a risk that the employee will use their time off to look for a new job. There is also the challenge of providing cover for the employees who are on sabbatical. Happy employees make for productive and profitable organizations and sabbaticals can be the ideal way to retain valued but disillusioned employees who need to take some time out.
