The word “sabbatical,” with origins in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, derived from the root word “sabbath,” means a rest from work or a hiatus, often lasting a month or two but sometimes up to a year. The concept has been seen in higher-education circles for decades, although in the recent economy, sabbaticals have been fewer and farther between.
They still appear in corporate America as a sign-on incentive or a reward in both trendy tech companies (Intel and Adobe, for example) and a few old standards (such as General Mills and American Express). But sometimes sabbaticals are offered in grassroots organizations.
“I’ll be taking a month for a sabbatical leave,” said Mike Ward, pastor of Lexington’s Walnut Hill Church, which has an ecumenical relationship with the Episcopal and Presbyterian churches. “For me, personally, it’s the opportunity to take time away from ordinary duties and responsibilities to pursue refreshment or renewal or development of my personal, spiritual and professional self.”
The vestry of his church congregation, which is the elected governing board, told Ward he is free to use the paid time off in whatever way he sees fit. Ward will use it as more than vacation time.
“I’m choosing to use the time to explore an area of the ministry I have never had experience with,” he said. “I’ll present a report to the vestry about my experience and what I learned.”
In 2012, Fortune Magazine devoted an issue to the “Best 100 Companies to Work For” and also focused on some of the best benefits around. The article claimed that nearly a quarter of the companies on the list offered fully paid sabbaticals. The top five in that category were: Boston Consulting Group, Recreational Equipment (REI), DPR Construction, DreamWorks Animation and Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants.
No Kentucky companies made the list. In fact, sabbaticals seem to be a rare employee benefit throughout the business world in central Kentucky.
The Bluegrass Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (BGSHRM) comprises about 300 human resource professionals in the Lexington-Bluegrass area. Amanda Huddleston, vice president at People Plus in Lexington and president-elect for BGSHRM, said, “Unfortunately, none of our BGSHRM board has any information or knowledge of local companies that offer sabbaticals. One of our board members is in the tech industry, too, and he was not aware of that being offered here.”
Linda Haft, director of human capital services for Lexington-based Hanna Resource group, which uses strategic business and human-resource solutions to help make companies profitable, also agrees sabbaticals are not a common benefit here.
“I cannot personally tell you of any local company that offers it,” said Haft. “I would say a few large companies might offer it, because small companies cannot afford to be without their employees for that period of time. Historically, it was high-tech companies that might offer it as a benefit.”
Haft recalled dealing with a particular client in her past professional life — Netscape — a major computer services company best known for Netscape Navigator, its web browser. A dozen years ago, Netscape worked some of its employees so hard and for so many hours they couldn’t squeeze in their vacation time. So Netscape gave them extended paid time off to recuperate.
“It wasn’t forced vacation; they were able to take sabbaticals at their discretion. They could take six weeks of paid time, in addition to their normal vacation time,” said Haft. “It was because people were working around the clock, and Netscape realized these people were getting burned out.”
In a 2010 study of sabbaticals, Forbes Magazine reported that in today’s fast-paced, always-plugged-in business world, taking just a week off throws some workers “into a task-delegating, calendar-clearing frenzy. Taking a prolonged break, by quitting a job, or taking a paid or unpaid leave, can seem downright insane,” said the article.
One reason may be job insecurity in this reduced economy.
But Elizabeth Pagano, cofounder of YourSabbatical.com, disagrees.
“The concept of working for 40 years and then retiring is outdated,” Pagano said. “People should be able to inject bursts of time off into their career paths.”
Joe Reynolds, who has an event-production business called Red Frog Events, gives his employees, along with a guest of their choosing, a fully paid, one-month trip to the destination of their choice — every five years. He told Inc. Magazine, “Sabbaticals make sense. A month away allows enough time to come back hungry to tackle the next big project … people who love their job, perform better.”
Meanwhile, Pastor Ward, who counsels many individuals and couples feeling the strain of work on their personal lives, urges proportion: take your allotted vacation time. If you earned it, he counsels, you should take it.
“My message to anyone would be that it’s important to strike a balance between work and rest. Rest might mean physical rest or refreshment and renewal,” Ward said. “I’m certainly aware not everyone’s vocational situation allows for four weeks or two months off, but I think people need a rhythm.”