Workers prioritising employers that offer sabbaticals in work-life balance shift

Repost: Article from the Guardian on August 27, 2024 by Rachel Hall.

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Workers are increasingly choosing employers that offer sabbaticals to combat burnout, gain new experiences and improve their work-life balance, experts say.

More than half of managers (53%) said their organisation offered sabbatical leave, with just over a quarter (29%) saying their organisation did not, according to exclusive data from the Chartered Management Institute. Managers working in the public or charity sector were more likely to say sabbatical leave was available than those in the private sector (62% v 44%).

Sabbaticals were popular with employees and employers because they offered benefits for both, said Anthony Painter, the director of policy at the Chartered Management Institute.

“In today’s competitive job market, companies are doubling their efforts to boost staff retention,” he said. “They can hit the sweet spot between employee wellbeing and upskilling that benefits the employer. The relationship between employer and employee has shifted in recent years but it’s not zero-sum.”

The survey also found that younger managers, under 55, were more likely to say that it was important for employers to offer sabbatical leave (80% compared with 72%).

Two-fifths of the managers said the main reason for offering sabbatical leave was to improve employee wellbeing and mental health, while 36% wanted to cultivate a more flexible work culture and increase talent retention (31%).

Recent Harvard Business Review research stated that sabbaticals were growing exponentially, while Adecco, the world’s largest HR company, identified them as one of the top five workplace trends.

Shasa Dobrow, the associate professor of management at the London School of Economics, said there had been “big shifts in how we understand work and where it fits in our lives” in recent years. This has meant that people are less likely to prioritise salary, and instead focus on “what is meaningful to them”, from the values espoused by the organisation to the working environment.

“Organisations that offer attractive sabbatical options will be clearly signalling to both prospective and current employees that they value employees’ wellbeing and access to important developmental opportunities,” she said.

Sabbaticals are appealing to employers as they boost job satisfaction levels and reduce turnover. She said her research had found that as people progressed in their job, their satisfaction tended to decrease. When they switched jobs and started in a new organisation, it rose, before declining again.

“What’s interesting is that there are ways to mimic this effect without actually changing organisations – or even jobs – and that is through doing things like sabbaticals. We think it’s the spark from the novelty and change that comes from activities like sabbaticals that can help people experience a boost in their job satisfaction,” she said.

Alan Greef, an NHS theatre service manager at County hospital Louth, said his hospital had been running sabbaticals since 1952 when they were introduced to improve employee retention and wellbeing, but he noted that they were “gaining popularity”.

To qualify, senior staff required five years of service and junior staff about one, and they were often used to work for Doctors Without Borders or Mercy Ships, he said. One colleague spent three months unpaid every year in the Falklands performing anaesthetics for the locals.

Al Mayeeda Kinnory, an HR consultant, said in her experience about 15-25% of employees took advantage of sabbatical leave when it was offered, though it depended on the industry and company culture, with uptake higher in progressive sectors such as tech or creative industries.

The organisations she consults for usually offer three- to six-month sabbaticals, available to employees after five to 10 years of continuous service. In some cases, they are paid, potentially partially, in others unpaid, and this can depend on the purpose of the leave, for example whether it involves upskilling or community work.

She said this reflected the fact that HR strategies were increasingly aimed at fostering a “supportive and progressive workplace culture that values and prioritises employee wellbeing and work-life balance”. Employees often came back with “renewed energy and a fresh perspective which also helps to revitalise the mood for the further work”, she said.

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Kinnory also took advantage of a sabbatical opportunity at her previous employer, when she took two months off partially paid to recover from stress, travel and volunteer.

“Knowing that the company valued my wellbeing and supported my personal and professional growth made me more committed to staying and focusing on my career path,” she said, adding: “If I were to consider new employment opportunities, the presence of a sabbatical offer would be a crucial factor.”

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