The Way People Think About Work Is Changing

For a long time, careers were treated as rigid and linear. You stayed in one role, worked continuously and stepping away for any significant amount of time was often viewed as risky or professionally damaging. A Sabbatical was out of reach for most people and an extended career break was just unheard of.

But attitudes towards work and work/life balance are changing rapidly.

More people are questioning burnout culture, reassessing what they want from life and recognising that productivity, wellbeing and long term career success are not always helped by constantly pushing themselves to exhaustion. Employers are beginning to understand this too.

Across a wide range of industries, sabbaticals are becoming increasingly recognised as a valuable way to improve employee wellbeing and retention, and therefore reduce turnover and training cost, reduce burnout, encourage personal and professional development and help people return to work more motivated, focused and engaged, ultimately improving productivity.

It’s a win win.

Sometimes all you need to do is convince your employer of that.

A well planned sabbatical does not have to be framed as ‘walking away’ from your career or abandoning your responsibilities. In many cases, it can be positioned as a positive and mutually beneficial opportunity for both employee and employer. The key is understanding how to approach the conversation professionally and realistically.

What Is A Sabbatical?

A sabbatical is an extended period away from work that is agreed upon by both you and your employer. Like a career break or gap year, it is often used to travel, quite often to do so in a meaningful way that involves learning a new skill or volunteering as well, but ultimately the difference is that with a sabbatical you have job security. 

The agreement is that you take time off and, at the end of it, you return to your role.

How To Take A Sabbatical

Remember, Asking about a sabbatical professionally and thoughtfully is not irresponsible or unrealistic. You aren’t wrong for asking and you certainly aren’t wrong for wanting one. In many industries, it is becoming an increasingly normal conversation to have.

So now you have decided you want to take a Sabbatical, how exactly do you make it happen? You can’t just quit, walk out and hope you can get your job back when you return, you need to manage it carefully.

Check Your Company Policy

The first thing you should do is check your contract and your specific company policy on Sabbaticals. You don’t have an automatic right to one, but you do have a statutory right to ask for flexible working, so there will be a policy on this. The problem is the comprehensiveness of these policies often vary wildly, so do your research and work with what you have. In general terms most policies that allow them will:

• Require a minimum term of service. Usually two years or more. The longer you have been with them the better your chances, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible if you haven’t. You’ll just have to sell it harder.
• Set a maximum duration. Again, this could be a month, six months or more. There are no set rules. The one constant you will have is that they will want you to return on a specific agreed date, you are essentially trading a bit of freedom for job security, and that is perfectly reasonable.
• Set conditions of what will happen to your pay, contract and benefits, if you get any.

Do Your Research

After you have checked your company policy and found out that they do offer sabbaticals, there are still a few things you need to look at and maybe clarify with HR before you set up that meeting. Here are the most common things to consider.

Should a sabbatical agreement be in writing?

Absolutely. Any approved sabbatical should ideally include written confirmation covering:

• Length of leave
• Return date
• Pay arrangements
• Pension or benefits
• Whether the role is protected
• Any conditions attached to the leave

How long does a sabbatical usually last?

Most sabbaticals last anywhere from one month to a year, though the most common length is between three and six months.

Will I Get Paid To Go On Sabbatical?

It’s a nice dream, but no. There are exceptions of course, such as a perk of long service or rank, or if you are working in academia and doing research, but the key word there is exception. Most employers won’t pay you for swanning off around Europe for three months.

Can I work somewhere else during a sabbatical?

Yes you can, with some caveats. Generally your employers sabbatical policy will prevent you contractually from working with a direct competitor for example, but you can still do freelance work, volunteer or do anything else outside that. Just check your contract.

Will my job still be there after a sabbatical?

That depends on the agreement you make with your employer. Some sabbaticals guarantee a return to your existing role, while others only guarantee a similar position, but generally yes, you can make an agreement to have your old job.

Can I lose my job for taking a sabbatical?

No, not if a sabbatical is formally agreed and approved, your employment is usually protected under the agreed terms as this is essentially considered an employment contract, even though pay and benefits may have ceased. If you just leave and travel for three to six months, then technically you have already quit before they can fire you.

Does a sabbatical affect my pension?

If your sabbatical is unpaid, you and your employer will usually stop making pension contributions during that period. This creates a gap in your pension pot. If it is only for three to six months it usually isn’t a huge issue and you can make up any shortfall when you return.

What happens to my continuous service?

If your sabbatical is agreed and a formal contract signed, then your continuous service (which is important for redundancy pay and statutory rights) will be intact. This only changes if you resign to take a career break.

What Employers Actually Care About

One last thing before you get ready for that final meeting. One of the biggest mistakes people make when approaching a sabbatical request is assuming the conversation is only about whether their employer ‘approves’ of travel.

In reality, most employers are usually far more concerned about practicalities than the actual reason you want time away.

They are thinking about things like:

• Workload,
• Staffing,
• Continuity,
• Planning,
• Handovers,
• Team impact,
• Timelines,
• And whether they can realistically manage your absence without disruption.

That is why the way you present your request matters so much.

A well planned sabbatical proposal shows your employer that you are thinking professionally, responsibly and collaboratively rather than impulsively. In many cases, employers are far more open to the idea when they can clearly see:

• realistic notice periods,
• flexible timing,
• workload planning,
• transition support,
• and a clear intention to return motivated and committed afterwards.

Approaching the conversation from a perspective of mutual benefit rather than personal escape can make a huge difference to how your request is received.

How To Ask For A Sabbatical.

Now you should be all prepared, and ready to set up the meeting with your manager. This is the important bit, and your approach here is key.

Be Professional

Don’t just casually mention that you want to do this on a Friday afternoon just before everyone leaves for the weekend. Book in specific time with your manager, make sure it is long enough that you can genuinely make a serious case and answer any questions they will have.

Give Reasonable Notice

If you tell your employer you want to leave next week, that’s not fair on anyone and the answer is going to be no. And probably not very politely either. As a general rule three to six months is a good idea, even if you float the idea at six months and then revisit it properly a month or two later, the more time you give them to

Make An Actual Business Case

This is the most important part. Don’t just tell them you want to go off on a three month jolly around south east Asia, tell them why. More importantly how exactly will you taking a Sabbatical help them.They won’t be impressed by your desire to island hop around the Philippines, even if that is wjhat you are really planning to do. Framing your sabbatical as a positive investment rather than an inconvenience will help your case immensely.

Now, your unique circumstances, reasons for going and workplace specifics will be different to the next person of course, but in very general terms you want to frame it in one or more of these ways. Just tailor it to your specific role or position.

Improved staff retention: Replacing experienced employees is expensive and staff turnover is a significant problem for any business. A sabbatical can keep valued staff long term instead of losing them permanently to burnout or career changes, and that can only benefit them in the long run.

There are huge bonus points here if you have an extremely valuable skill or high demand profession like Nursing or Medicine for example. My old profession was – and still is – in such high demand I could effectively leave and walk into another job the next day, so if I wanted to take six months off in between, that was up to me, not them. I’m not saying you should remind them of that aggressively of course, but mentioning your bargaining power won’t hurt..

Reduced burnout and better wellbeing: Employees often return refreshed, more motivated and more productive after extended leave, especially after years in demanding roles. This is well documented and evidenced, so feel free to present them with that too. Increased productivity is pretty much a no brainer.

Reduced absenteeism: Absenteeism is a huge issue for employers, financially and culturally. The NHS alone for example spends over 3 billion a year on agency nurses just to cover the staff off sick! And yet they are slow to see the case for it being far cheaper to just look after your employees instead! A sabbatical can be healthier, productive and more importantly cheaper, than long term disengagement or sick leave, which they do have to pay you for. Framing it in this way will make your case a lot stronger.

Reduced presenteeism: Similar to this, presenteeism is where staff still turn up to work but are ill, unmotivated and stressed, and this is actually estimated to cost 3 times as much as absence in lost productivity, mistakes and spreading illness to other staff. Anything that will reduce this problem and increase productivity is a good thing.

Higher loyalty and morale: What type of workplace do your employers want to foster? You constantly hear about companies wanting to attract the best talent, and that goes far beyond the pay package now. The best talent wants to know they are appreciated, and in turn that appreciation will turn into huge benefits for your employer. Offering sabbaticals signals trust and investment in staff, which in turn will attract the best talent and make them want to stay.

Talent attraction and employer branding: And that in and of itself is another plus point in your favour. If your company allow this, they can push themselves as a modern, flexible employer with a significant package of benefits on top of wages to potential recruits. Flexible work benefits like this are increasingly attractive, particularly to younger professionals who prioritise work-life balance and meaningful experiences. Without it, they simply won’t get or keep the best people.

Professional development: This is where you sell yourself a little. Obviously don’t tell them about the full moon party or festival you are planning to attend, tell them instead about the skills you are planning to learn while you are away that could benefit them when you get back. Language skills are always a huge bonus for example, especially if you work with international clients or partners, but it isn’t always about the hard skills, soft skills counts just as much. Travel, volunteering, study or life experience during a sabbatical can build confidence, resilience, leadership skills, communication and problem solving skills and generally make you a stronger, more well rounded employee that will be a huge benefit to the employer afterwards. And as a bonus, you can remind them that they don’t have to pay for this continued professional development!

Make a plan: This can be the cherry on top of your pitch. If you plan to go away for 3 to 6 months for example, but can show that you have successfully redistributed some of your responsibilities, that others are willing to take up a bit of slack for you and you can take this time off and cause them the least amount of difficulty or disruption in the process, you are far more likely to be successful.

You will also get major bonus points here if you can do this and also frame it as developing junior staff. If you’ve been training someone or helping to develop them, surely a little extra responsibility will be good for them and identify future leaders in the company, right?

The strongest argument is essentially that a sabbatical is often far cheaper and less disruptive than losing an experienced employee altogether.

Be A Little Flexible

Depending on the type of job you do, timing can be really important. If you ask to leave during their busiest period or in the middle of a huge, important project for example, the answer is much more likely to be no. But if you sense the answer is more of an ‘it’s not the right time’, then being able to come back with an alternative time frame at a point that suits you both will help.

Yes. Unless it is written into your contract as a guaranteed entitlement, your employer has no legal obligation to say yes.

They might refuse your request if:

• It is a peak business period.
• They cannot find cover for your specific role.
• Your performance has been poor (a sabbatical isn’t a get-out-of-jail-free card).
• You haven’t been with the company long enough.

What Happens If They Say No?

Let’s be honest, unless it is written into your contract there is always a chance your employer will refuse your request and they aren’t legally obligated to give you one. So what do you do?

The first thing is don’t panic. It may be the wrong time or you may be asking too much. Try and negotiate a little, and this is where being flexible really helps. Ask if you can go for a shorter period, or at a different time, or if there is anything you can do such as making sure someone is trained up to help with workload. It may be the case that you can revisit the request in a few months.

If after that the answer is still no, and a sabbatical or a career break is non negotiable, then it may be time to consider the a full career break, or the old quit and travel the world. This is essentially the exact same thing for you except your employer loses a valuable employee, and all you have to do is apply for a new job when you get back instead of settling back into your old one.

And if that happens it may even be better for you. You’ll have a whole host of new skills and confidence to apply for a higher, better paid position anyway!