According to experts, employees are increasingly choosing employers that offer sabbaticals to prevent burnout, gain new experiences and improve work-life balance.
More than half of managers (53%) said their company offers sabbaticals, while just over a quarter (29%) do not, according to exclusive data from the Chartered Management Institute. Managers in the public or not-for-profit sector were more likely to say sabbaticals are available than managers in the private sector (62% vs. 44%).
Sabbaticals are popular with employees and employers because they offer benefits to both, says Anthony Painter, director of policy at the Chartered Management Institute.
“In today’s competitive job market, companies are doubling down on efforts to increase employee retention,” he said. “They can strike a balance between employee well-being and training that benefits the employer. The employer-employee relationship has changed in recent years, but it is not a zero-sum game.”
The survey also found that younger managers under 55 were more likely to think it was important for employers to offer sabbaticals (80% versus 72%).
Two-fifths of managers cited improving employee wellbeing and mental health as the main reason for granting a sabbatical, while 36% wanted to create a more flexible working culture and increase retention of talented employees (31%).
According to a recent Harvard Business Review study, sabbaticals are increasing exponentially, and Adecco, the world’s largest staffing company, identified them as one of the top five trends in the workplace.
Shasa Dobrow, associate professor of management at the London School of Economics, said there had been “major shifts in our understanding of work and its place in our lives” in recent years, leading people to place less emphasis on salary and instead focus on “what matters to them”, from the values the company represents to the work environment.
“Companies that offer attractive sabbatical options send a clear signal to both prospective and current employees that they care about employee well-being and access to important development opportunities,” she said.
Sabbaticals are attractive to employers because they increase job satisfaction and reduce turnover. She said her research found that people’s satisfaction tended to decline as they progressed in their careers. When they changed jobs and started at a new organization, it rose before falling again.
“What’s interesting is that there are ways to mimic this effect without actually changing organizations – or even jobs – through things like sabbaticals. We believe it’s the spark of novelty and change that comes from activities like sabbaticals that can help people increase their job satisfaction,” she said.
Alan Greef, a The head of NHS surgical services at County Hospital Louth said his hospital has been offering sabbaticals since 1952, when they were introduced to improve staff retention and wellbeing, but he noted that they were “becoming increasingly popular”.
To qualify, senior staff had to serve for five years, junior staff about a year. They were often deployed to Doctors Without Borders or Mercy Ships, he said. One colleague spent three months each year without pay in the Falkland Islands, where he anaesthetised locals.
Al Mayeeda Kinnory, a human resources consultant, said that in her experience, about 15 to 25 percent of employees take up a sabbatical when offered, but this depends on the industry and company culture. Take-up is higher in progressive sectors such as technology or the creative industries.
The organisations she advises typically offer their employees three to six month sabbaticals after five to ten years of continuous service. In some cases they are paid, perhaps partially, in others unpaid, and this may depend on the purpose of the leave, for example whether it is for further training or community service.
This reflects the fact that HR strategies are increasingly aimed at fostering a “supportive and progressive workplace culture that values and prioritizes employee wellbeing and work-life balance.” Employees often return with “new energy and a fresh perspective, which also helps to revitalize the mood for further work,” she said.
Kinnory also took advantage of a sabbatical opportunity from her previous employer, taking two months of partially paid leave to recover from stress, travel and volunteer.
“Knowing that the company values my well-being and supports my personal and professional development has made me even more determined to stay and focus on my career path,” she said, adding: “If I were to consider new employment opportunities, the offer of a sabbatical would be a deciding factor.”
