Extended time off to pursue career and personal growth is a concept borrowed from academia, where sabbaticals remain highly popular. Yet, fewer companies now offer sabbaticals, at a time when surveys find “growth opportunity” is a priority for employees and job seekers.
Sabbaticals also address another employee and job seeker priority: work-life balance. In today’s world, where everyone is connected all the time, the line between work and other aspects of life has blurred. Extended time off can provide a needed respite from the struggle to find balance.
Research Shows
According to “2016 Employee Benefits: Looking Back at 20 Years of Employee Benefits Offerings in the U.S.,” a report from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), sabbaticals have indeed fallen out of favor, at least among employers.
In 1996, 27 percent of employers offered unpaid sabbaticals, while in 2016 that number was only 12 percent. Paid sabbatical programs have also declined, although not by much: 6 percent of employers offered the benefit in 1996, compared to 4 percent in 2016.
And there appear to be no plans to increase sabbatical offerings. Less than 1 percent of surveyed employers plan to offer paid sabbaticals in the next 12 months, and less than 1 percent plan to offer unpaid sabbaticals during the same time period.
Meanwhile, newly released findings, based on the SHRM 2017 Employee Benefits survey, suggest employers are still unenthusiastic about the benefit. The percentage of employers currently offering unpaid sabbatical programs remains unchanged from last year, 12 percent, and the percentage of employers offering paid sabbatical programs basically remains the same as well, 5 percent this year vs. 4 percent in 2016.
Examples of Sabbatical Programs
Not all companies have turned away from sabbaticals, however.
Online real estate database company Zillow recently introduced a sabbatical program where full-time employees with at least six consecutive years on staff are eligible for up to six weeks off, three weeks paid and three weeks unpaid.
The offering, known as ZG R&R (Reboot & Recharge) Sabbatical Program is listed among benefits at the company’s careers site, under the heading “Benefits” and the subheading “Clear Your Head.” The same page at the site includes “best places to work” awards.
Recreational Equipment Inc., commonly known as REI, is another employer that offers sabbaticals. After 15 years of service with the retail and outdoor services company, employees earn their first paid sabbatical, up to four consecutive weeks of time off, in addition to earned vacation hours.
The company also offers a “Personal Leave of Absence,” which essentially is an unpaid sabbatical program. This leave is described at its careers site: “Sometimes earned vacation just isn’t enough. Employees can request up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a year. With manager approval, a leave can be used to pursue any personal interest including volunteering, traveling the globe or going back to school.”
Cons and Pros
The downsides of sabbaticals include:
- Scheduling issues
- Managing the workload
- Productivity issues
- Employee retention
Presumably these issues can be addressed, except maybe the last one. If an employee decides to stay on the Galapagos Islands, there’s not much to do but wish him or her well.
The benefits of sabbaticals include:
- Allow employees to recharge
- Provide time for personal and/or professional growth
- Boost employee retention
- Help with candidate attraction
Interestingly, retention is both a benefit and a downside. This illustrates two completely different views of retention: keeping an employee through captivity or providing opportunities for growth at the risk of losing the employee.
As for candidate attraction, even job seekers not personally interested in the benefit offering will likely see the value of a sabbatical program, and what it represents.
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Paula Santonocito, Contributing Editor for Recruiting Daily Advisor, is a business journalist specializing in employment issues. She is the author of more than 1,000 articles on a wide range of human resource and career topics, with an emphasis on recruiting and hiring. Her articles have been featured in many global and domestic publications and information outlets, referenced in academic and legal publications as well as books, and translated into several languages. |