Relaxation/Vacation
Sabbatical surefire cure for burnoutTaking an eight-week sabbatical from work may sound like a pipe dream. But for many employees in the private and public sectors, taking an extended leave is just what they need to break the monotony of work or to rejuvenate their careers. ROSS FATTORI |
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 [ 2002-09-18 ] |
A generation ago, sabbaticals were the exclusive domain of universities, where tenured faculty members would go away for a year to write a book or to pursue their academic studies.
In response to an increasingly tight labour market and greater demand for highly skilled workers in the '80s and '90s, companies began exploring alternative work arrangements such as job sharing, offsite work, flextime, reduced hours, phased retirement -- and sabbaticals.
Over the years, sabbaticals have become a perk that companies offer to retain staff and to influence performance.
"Sabbaticals are a great way to attract and retain prospective employees," says Norma Tombari, a senior manager of diversity and workforce solutions at RBC Financial Group. "At some RBC Financial Group companies, sabbaticals are offered on a need-be basis at the discretion of senior managers."
In the corporate world, many large organizations offer extended voluntary leaves. Here, sabbaticals are offered as a way of attracting and retaining workers and of boosting productivity.
The term sabbatical has several interpretations depending on the company or institution offering it. Some view it as a paid leave, while others view it as an unpaid leave.
The Sun newspaper chain offers a four-week paid leave sabbatical to full-time employees who have had at least 10 years' employment with the company. Some companies offer self-funded sabbaticals where employees contribute a portion of their income over a several-year period.
Sabbaticals can even take the form of accumulated vacation time. Some companies offer paid vacations that amount to five or six weeks per year, or longer. These paid vacation periods are occasionally lumped together for a single, extended vacation.
Employees use this holiday from work to pursue hobbies, participate in a social-service project or to just plain relax. In the public sector, some education boards in Canada allow employees to put aside a portion of their pay for sabbaticals.
Not all companies are sold on the merits of paid or unpaid leaves. In fact, some large companies have discontinued offering sabbaticals altogether, citing they were too difficult to quantify and too disruptive among employees who often had to cover for an absent worker.
What are the incentives among employees in taking sabbaticals? Many people use the time to travel or to learn a new skill. Some use the leave to spend time raising a family, or to provide care for an ailing family member.
From an employer's perspective, an employee will return to work more energized about his job. Of course, there is always the chance that employees will find greener pastures while away on sabbatical. That's the risk companies take in offering this type of benefit.
While corporate sabbaticals have become more popular in the private sector in the past decade, they are far from the norm. Most small- and medium-sized companies lack the financial and human resources to offer sabbaticals to employees.
In corporate Canada, sabbaticals are rare. "We're not seeing a lot of sabbaticals offered from large firms in the current marketplace," says Marilyn Croghan, president of Prospect Search Partners Inc., an executive search firm that specializes in the high tech and finance sectors. "I would not recommend to a candidate during an interview to ask about a potential sabbatical unless they are applying for a position with a crown corporation or at a teaching institution."
Despite the mixed view of sabbaticals in the corporate world, they continue to be popular among academic institutions. "Academic salaries tend to be lower than in the corporate world, and sabbaticals are a form of entitlement in academia that redresses this imbalance," says Dr. Vivek Goel, vice provost for Faculty at the University of Toronto. "Among faculty members at U of T, about 50% take advantage of this perk."
Dr. Goel adds that sabbaticals are structured differently according to each discipline, and that younger faculty members generally place less emphasis on taking sabbaticals than do older faculty members who have established careers.
"Short-term intervals could become more popular and workable in the next few years," Tombari says. "Whether it's a formal or an informal flexibility, this type of benefit can be an effective response to real work/life issues."
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