Formal sabbatical policies are increasingly attractive for employees, but are often misunderstood by companies considering them. Giving employees more than a vacation—months, not days or weeks—provides unexpected benefits to companies: combatting burnout, building culture, encouraging work-life balance, and satisfying younger workers.

Addressing burnout takes longer than a weekend/vacation

First, a sabbatical provides enough time to truly recover and return to who you are outside your job. Participants in a study I conducted said it took much longer than they’d expected, sometimes up to eight weeks, to feel “human again.” Employee disengagement and burnout persists, despite the many tech-forward offerings promising restoration in microchunks of our days. These trends confirm what my research has shown: There’s no quick fix for unwinding work’s negative effects. More drastic measures are needed.  

Extended leave also forces employees and their employers to get the work done with remaining resources, rather than have everything pile up in their absence. This frees employees to actually be present during their time off, instead of clearing all the logistical hurdles only to leave one foot in the office anyway.

Employers benefit too. Sabbaticals clarify who’s actually doing what, and prepares organizations for more sudden departures among their staff.

Building culture

Most companies offer extended leave only for one-offs and special circumstances, such as parental leave or disability leave. These departures foist additional work on those left behind, but rarely come with benefits for them, let alone increased pay or lasting promotions. This can build understandable resentment.

During my research, I visited Brighton Jones, a Seattle-based financial advisory firm that gives all employees a three-month paid sabbatical every decade. While at the office, I watched the company gather for a voluntary lunch where an employee who recently returned from sabbatical with their family gave a photo presentation. Near the end, the person thanked several coworkers who had taken care of their clients while away.

The camaraderie was palpable. The returning employee appreciated the extra work that had allowed them to disconnect, and their teammates knew they could cash in on that karma down the line. In an age where so many companies try to buy culture through Ping-Pong tables and free lunch, this felt organic and authentic.

Newfound perspective and boundaries

Another interview led me to Carol, a U.S. government employee who used a leave without pay program to spend several months trekking in Latin America and caring for an ailing family member back home.

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