What's the top reason for taking a career break in Europe?

Who's taking career breaks in Europe? According to LinkedIn data, women in Europe are 64% more likely than men to list a career break on their profiles. New research from the LinkedIn Economic Graph team analyses the data on people who listed a career break on their profile as of June 2024.

On average, 37% more women in Europe list a career break than men – though the figures vary across countries, with over 50% more women reporting?a career break in Germany, France and Sweden, while the number of women in the UK and Netherlands is only 27% and 14% higher?than men listing a break on their profile, respectively.

?It's worth noting that the proportion of people listing career breaks overall is also significantly lower in the Netherlands, Spain and Italy than elsewhere, while Germany, Ireland and the UK have the largest proportion of people adding career breaks to their profiles.

Why do people take a career break?

When it comes to why people take their career break, the top reason for women is full-time parenting – while men are more likely to take time out of their career for self-development.

More than a third of women who listed a career break globally (33.6%) cite the reason as a full-time parenting career break. This is in stark contrast to men, where 7.3% of men who took a career break took time out of work for parenting. The top reason given for a career break among men globally is professional development – listed by 15% of male career breakers. Across Europe, parenting is the most common reason listed by women taking career breaks in all but two countries.

While it is likely that women are more likely to take time out for parenting, psychologist and podcaster Jessica Chivers suggests the figures may be hiding a different reality. “I have a suspicion that more men are taking time out for parenting then they are actually saying due to fear of the career penalty they might pay.” Chivers says men often see the experience of their female colleagues when it comes to career progression or requesting flexible work and opt not to share. "I’ve spoken to men for the Comeback Coach podcast who took shared parental leave but don’t want to broadcast it for fear of being penalised.”

In Sweden, parents are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave that can be split between two parents, with part of it able to be used up till the child is 12. Research suggests the policy of offering paid leave for two parents has encouraged more fathers to take parental leave, even if parents don't always choose to split it 50:50. This may go some way to explaining why parenting is the most common reason for a career break among those who take them in Sweden, according to LinkedIn's data. It's worth noting that women in Sweden are more likely than men to have taken a career break overall and that it's more likely to be for parenting (46% of women career breakers list it as their reason compared with 19% of men career breakers) – but the length of time taken by both men and women is below the European averages, possibly a result of the ability to split the leave.

Parents and the return to work

While there are many reasons for taking career breaks, those periods taken for parenting are among the longest, among both men and women in the data. On average, women in Europe who take career breaks for parenting take an average of 22 months out of work, compared with an average of 11 months for men.

It’s why support for returning to work is so important, particularly for women who are still more likely to take longer than men for full-time parenting.

“Often it’s women who will be trying to return to the workforce from a position of having been in a different workplace, which makes it more challenging,” says Chivers. Career coaching is just one thing employers could offer. “Coaching can be powerful, offering an external person to talk about anything and everything careers related with. And it could be combined with a buddy system, offering someone that internal contact who can help understand the organisation, particularly if they’ve had a career break themselves.”

Other ways employers can support people returning – whether to a role or into work completely – is through shadowing processes, sympathetic line management and “immersion days”, says Chivers. “Giving people a chance to have a day or so in work before a full return can help avoid feelings of overwhelm. A supportive line manager is also important – someone who understands people may need training or just a safe space to say what’s working and what isn’t.”

Changing perspective

Though full-time parenting is by far the most common reason women have taken a career break across Europe, the proportion of women who do so varies across the countries studied. For instance, more than half of women in Germany say their break was for that reason, the only country where the majority do so. Elsewhere in Europe, over a quarter of women have taken time away from work for their children, with travel often close behind. In EMEA, 21% of men and 19% of women who took career breaks did so for travel, with both men and women taking a median of six months off.

Career breaks can be a significant means of breaking out of a rut or getting a fresh perspective on a role. Enabling people to take career breaks can hold value for employers too. Helen Tupper per, author of Squiggly Careers, says, “It’s important for an organisation to recognise the long term value of employees – not just how impactful people are in the here and now. Career breaks are a moment when someone needs to press pause on work because of other priorities. Employers that support these moments in someone’s life are much more likely to retain employees and benefit from their advocacy in the future.”

For people thinking about asking for time out for a period of self development, Tupper has some tips. "Be clear on your ask – what is your ideal in terms of timing and length? The clarity demonstrates you are confident and considered. Consider the implications and solutions … pre-empt potential problems and share your ideas for how they could be overcome – for example, creating a stretch opportunity for someone on the team."

Managing your own expectations and being flexible are key. Tupper adds, "Being willing to adapt will help [show] you are open to making this work for you and the business."

Reporting: Siobhan Morrin

Economic Graph insights: Danielle K. and Rosie Hood, PhD