Give it a Rest

Why sabbaticals might be the perfect way to recharge careers & organizations

The thing about work is, well, it’s hard work. Especially if you’re an entrepreneur working long hours, nights, and weekends to launch a business and maintain high standards. But there has to be balance in your life. You can’t be always on indefinitely without eventually burning out. There comes a time in the course of a career when it’s time for a break, perhaps an extended one. Though sabbaticals are rising in popularity, they’re still rare in the corporate landscape, with the Society of Human Resource Management reporting that less than 5% of U.S. companies offer paid sabbaticals and about 1 in 6 offer an unpaid version. The benefits of sabbaticals are manifold, though, and they’re a great way to recharge your batteries.

Balance from Burnout

In a tight labor market, and with a pronounced emphasis on work-life balance from Gen Z workers entering the labor force, sabbaticals can stand out as a way to attract and retain talent. It’s a good signal to employees or prospective ones that the organization values them and their personal well-being. There does need to be limitations, of course. Not everybody can be on sabbatical all the time, or no work will get done. But the extended leave can do wonders for burnout and churn rates.

The Sabbatical Project is a nonprofit that evangelizes for the widespread adoption of sabbatical policies. Founder DJ DiDonna, a senior entrepreneurial management lecturer at Harvard Business School, has his own sabbatical story.

“Started my own company. Great mission, incredible culture. Everything was bopping along well, but after about seven years, just really started to feel like I couldn’t bring my full self to it anymore,” he told the Harvard Business Review IdeaCast. “Like I said, very disorienting because I thought that was what I was meant to be doing. Turned out I just needed a break, and really I needed to re-examine what I wanted to do with my life. I think I needed to try something new for a bit.”

Meta’s Recharge benefit gives employees 30 days of paid leave after five years with the company. Envoy Global gives employees a paid month sabbatical every seven years and reports boosts in productivity and retention rates.

Mutual Benefits

Though paid sabbaticals are typically reserved for more senior employees, they can have positive impacts on junior employees as well. With their supervisor out for an extended period, these junior staffers can stretch their wings a bit, taking on more responsibility, building confidence in themselves, showcasing their skills and adding new ones. It takes trust from leadership, but the payoff can be both immediate and long-lasting.

“The time away forces team members to fill in on responsibilities and navigate new tasks, which often helps their professional development.” Envoy Global chief people officer Kira Meinzer told SHRM. “It’s a great way for employees to be cross-trained.”

It can also help founders realize they don’t have to keep putting in those long hours, learning to let go and trust the people they’ve hired to oversee the business.

“That’s the Catch-22 of starting a business. Like a nonprofit whose ultimate goal is to not be needed anymore — think cancer or Alzheimer’s research — the ultimate entrepreneur’s accomplishment is to make yourself expendable — at least for a month,” Tracy Call, founder of Media Bridge Advertising, told the Ladders. Call took a month-long trip to Europe with her family, only occasionally checking in with work, and was amazed by the results. “I had one client call during the entire month. I directed her back to the team, and they took care of it. By empowering them to make big decisions without the security of my approval, they learned how to trust themselves like never before.”

She reported the experience taught her to stress less, trust more, and rejuvenated her.

“It’s probably the best thing you can do for yourself, the people you work with and the people you love.”

Significant, Positive Change

Whether you’re considering a policy for your organization or taking one yourself, it’s important to know which type of sabbatical you want. An HBR survey of 50 people who had taken sabbaticals — overwhelmingly reporting “significant, positive changes in their work and life” — found three basic kinds of sabbatical.

One is a sort of working holiday that allows time for side projects that might blossom into something more or simply allow for a creative release. Patagonia, for example, allows employees to work for an environmental group of their choice for up to two months at full pay and benefits. It allows them to live their passion while still providing a change of pace from everyday work. “Coming back and choosing my role and really owning what it means to be in this role has changed,” one HBR interviewee said.

Another type was a so-called “free dive.” People left their work behind and plunged into exploratory and adventure travel, often pushing the limits of what they thought themselves capable of. Entrepreneur John Wagner spent a year planning and two months rowing from California to Hawaii, facing hypothermia and losing 38 pounds. He then went on to study classical art, became a licensed skydiver, and studied advanced meditation. “By having those opportunities to explore the world, push myself through discomfort, fearlessly create, and find stillness in my mind — I completely changed what I believed I was capable of and what I wanted to share,” he told the Ladders.

A third group, “questers,” started out slow, relaxing and reconnecting with family and friends before venturing out like the free divers, gaining new perspectives on life and work. “What changed is the ability for me to articulate what I want, and then to just get it,” one HBR interviewee said. “That type of audacity: I think it’s pretty rare and I’m really thankful I have that now.”

No matter which type of sabbatical people take, one thing is certain. They will come back with a different outlook on life and work. That’s kind of the point.

“We’d rather have someone figure that out than be unhappy and unproductive in their role,” Meinzer told SHRM. “Sometimes it takes stepping away to realize that.”