Is it your time for a sabbatical?

It’s January - the time of year many of us think about career steps and new directions. This could be a new job, aiming for a promotion, or thinking about work-life balance.

The 4 day week is getting lots of attention, and there are tons of articles floating around about quiet quitting.

But what about sabbaticals?

People take sabbaticals for different reasons, to get deep into a subject, take a break or get a change in perspective. I’ve taken three sabbaticals – to live in New Zealand, to travel South East Asia and to do a UK-based research fellowship with the Data Poverty Lab.

If you can afford a sabbatical (and that’s a big if), it can be a great way to trade in your career capital for skills, experiences and learning.

Sometimes this is a better option than a brand new job or a big career move.

If you’re thinking about taking a sabbatical, here are my thoughts:

1)?????Find your why. I find that every 3-4 years, I get itchy feet. I need time out to have my brain stretched in new ways and think differently. In 2018, I took a break to travel because I felt disenchanted with work. In 2022, I’d finished my Masters and was craving an intellectual challenge, so I did a research fellowship.

Moments in our life ask for different kinds of pauses. Spend some time reflecting with yourself, friends or family to work out why you want a sabbatical. ?

2)?????Can you afford it? Taking unpaid leave can feel daunting and often isn’t an option. During my fellowship, I worked one day per week in my day job and used a research grant to cover the rest of my costs. I was careful to make sure this was something I could actually afford. In my year-long sabbatical, I worked abroad. In previous years, I’ve explored options I later gave up on because I needed to save first.

Think carefully if you’ll have to take a salary cut, what that means for you, and budget well. But if you can, try not to let cost put you off – I’ve done some of mine on an absolute shoestring and it wasn't easy (I ate a lot of packet noodles) but I loved it.

Remember, a sabbatical can sometimes mean a break where you have the security of a job to come back to, which offers more financial security than a big job change.

3)?????Don’t ask don’t get. I've done two short sabbaticals (3-4 months) and both of these came about after I’d worked three years at the job I was in. I waited until I’d gained enough career capital to cash in and make a big ask. I was thoughtful about pitching them internally and creating a plan for how it would work. If you’ve made yourself valuable, lots of organisations may be more flexible than you expect.

When planning your next career move, ask yourself, do you want money, status or time? All three choices are valid, but we sometimes forget we can ask for time (I've also asked for the 4 day week). Be bold - an employer can’t give you something they don’t know you want.

4)?????Is a sabbatical the answer? It’s worth reflecting if you do really want a sabbatical, or if there are other frustrations where you need something to shift in your personal life. Sabbaticals can be stressful – you have to juggle your finances, expectations and sometimes it leaks over into your life once the time is up.

Enjoy the ideas phase, but when it comes to making the leap, be clear about what you want. Sometimes a big holiday experience or a mindful retreat might scratch that itch.

5)?????Dream big. Once you’ve decided to take a sabbatical, dream big about what you can do with your time. Taking my sabbaticals were some of the best choices I ever made – I volunteered in an addiction recovery centre in Thailand, swam in waterfalls, bungy jumped twice, learned how to lay fibre cable in Lancashire and presented my research findings at Labour Party Conference.

The time out was scary and amazing and sometimes stressful – but I would do them all again in a heartbeat.

What experience would you embrace on sabbatical? What have you always dreamed of doing?