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PortugalBenefits & Compensation
Sabbatical leave: Is it a common benefit in modern companies?
Having a sabbatical leave program has become an attractive human resource benefit in modern companies. Let's find out why!
Marcos Lopez
HR Consultant
3 of January, 2025
Workplace sabbaticals have become an attractive human resource option. It began among start-ups and high-stress technology companies. However, in the current environment of the great reset, a sabbatical leave may just be a human resources blessing. Is it a good way to attract and retain top talent while developing company branding? Let’s find out!
What exactly is a sabbatical leave?
The origins of Sabbatical Leave lie in the academic world. Professors had the right to a full year of paid leave. This way, they could pursue academic interests, which promoted both their own scholarship and the reputation of their university.
Today, sabbaticals have morphed into a potentially valuable HR benefit. It gives employees an extended break from work for stress relief or personal reasons. The goal is to retain employees by actively combating workplace stress. Moreover, to recruit them with an attractive feature of a positive organizational culture. But keep in mind, sabbaticals are not a statutory right.
Sabbatical misconceptions
- Do not confuse sabbaticals with other types of mandated leave benefits and statutory rights which follow strict human resources policy, as in two weeks’ vacation after the first year of employment.
- Sabbatical Leaves are generally paid, while Family Medical Leave or a related leave of absence is most often unpaid.
- Workplace sabbatical in many unique forms is an innovation, which is untested, so all manner legal entanglements may arise.
Formerly, only veteran employees could take sabbaticals after years of dedicated service. Today’s workplace simply does not have that temporal horizon extending from youth to old age with its ritual retirement tribute closure.
Sabbatical leave programs in the workplace: a work-in-progress
Sabbatical programs also have new formats to accommodate the change in organizational culture. Some resemble vacations. Others have personal development components laced throughout.
It is no longer unusual to offer a Sabbatical Leave in the first year of service, for example:
- Deloitte employees can now take extended leaves after just 6 months.
- Motley Fool set up for recently hired employees a monthly drawing. The winner can disconnect from work for two weeks out of the following four.
- A Portland, Oregon based virtual-receptionist company, Ruby Receptionists, instituted a five-week leave program. It comes with three life-coaching sessions and $1,000 if they agree to let the company publicize their experience.
- Ralph Lauren has a sabbatical program that gives employees time off after 5 years. Specifically “to pause, refocus and come back more energized.”
As the COVID pandemic had demonstrated, a long time away from the workplace gave employees ample time to question their work identity and life-priorities. Long sabbaticals, like the late period of quarantine, a trigger event for life-changes, some found employment with other companies. Others retired, changed careers or launched their own business, having gained new insights about themselves and what matters to them.
The pros and cons of having a sabbatical leave program
On the positive side, sabbaticals attract star candidates who may be entertaining multiple offers with a flashy, differentiating perk and seek a positive, caring work culture. The sabbatical program, if well-designed, may serve as a circuit breaker decreasing workplace stress, preventing burnout and combating overwork, giving employees time and space to prioritize their mental health over the needs of the employer. Sabbatical Leave may also include programs that give empowering lessons in the management of stress or other areas of personal growth to gain a general sense of well-being and life satisfaction.
On the negative side, sabbatical programs remain at this stage a murky area in human resources, with few regulations and little case law to foresee possible dangers of legal challenges. There may also be unexpected tensions as work shifts to employees covering for those on sabbatical, or else resentment may arise if there is not adequate transparency in the way sabbaticals are assigned. Indeed, it would be counter-productive to reduce the stress-level of one employee, all the while overwhelming colleagues left behind, especially given how hard it is to backfill technical tasks.
A quick final thought
Today, the number of companies with sabbatical programs remains relatively low. It goes without saying, for instance, that time off from work for one employee means heavier workloads for the rest.
When venturing into the area of sabbatical programs, human resources departments should establish clear guidelines that cover in detail how employees request their leave, how their requests are to be assessed, and any obligations they must fulfill before the leave is granted.
Sabbatical Leaves may be especially effective when combined with an array of programs and unconventional perks such as free fitness classes and on-site rock-climbing facilities, flexible work schedules, the right to request working from home at times of personal crisis such as the illness of a child, a fridge full of delicacies, and company outings and raffles for special events.
Sesame HR is a human resources software that can be tailored to your specific needs. Moreover, it can simplify all your processes when it comes to improving your company’s culture. The branding of an organization for its perks worked for Steve Jobs, and may just bring you very good results if carefully implemented and continuously assessed for genuine results to test the hype.
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