Take a sabbatical

Its becoming more and more common, young professionals with 10 years or so under their belt are taking 3+ months on a sabbatical. Whether it is taken between jobs, unpaid leave from an existing employer or trying out a new career path – a sabbatical or break from employment is now something now highly recommended as the benefits far out weigh the cost involved.

With many young professionals moving from school to university to work with little break, by the time the professional hits 30, they have accumulated potentially in excess of 10 years of working and no real break. Considering the young professional hasn’t even scratch the surface of a career, it can seem like a never ending circle.

Whilst GenY is not known to stay with one employer for greater than 10 years (earning long service leave) and probably nursing either a mortgage or rent, it can be very daunting to take time out. So pre-planning is an essential element of taking a sabbatical. The difference between a sabbatical and unemployment is that usually the sabbatical is planned with a purpose and a set period of time. There is an outcome.

And ladies - maternity leave is not a sabbatical! Minding baby/ies is not conducive to taking time out. They are not the same thing and do not share a common purpose.

What you can use a sabbatical to achieve:

• Full time study (because we know how hard part time study with work/family/friends really is!)

• Trying out a new career path (like an entrepreneurial pursuit).

• Improvements to house, like a major renovation project.

• Travel, especially if you don’t have a dependent family, as it can be harder to travel (and travel cheap) when you have multiple participants.

• Contribution to a charity, learning new skills whilst helping out the community.

• Improving family bonds, especially if you do have children or elderly parents, taking time out to care for them and reconnect with those you love

Benefits

• Renewed sense of focus and greater clarity of personal goals.

• Truly unwind, removing stress and the impacts potentially of long-term stress.

• New knowledge or experiences that can improve your workplace.

• An ability to see new ideas, having been away from the detail, it can be easier to see the trees in the forest.

• An employer obtains rejuvenated staff who are well rested and now excited to return

Things to think about:

• Not all employers will grant you extended leave, in many cases, the time off has to be achieved between jobs. Of course, there are plenty of online resources on how to convince an employer to give you the time off.

• Things can move quite quickly in the workplace and your exact role may not be available when you return. Similarly, promotion opportunities might be missed.

• You really need to plan, set goals and timeframes to get the most out of the experience.

• Save up – if you are not going to be earning, but still need to rent/pay a mortgage, than you need to save up the cost of the time off in advance. Relying on either government benefits or a partner is not recommended as things (like government policies, or relationship status) is never set in stone.

• You may become out of practice of a normal working environment, so start to transition to back to a 9-5 work day once it gets closer to the return time.

• Keep in touch with your employer during the time off in case there are any major changes.