Here’s what you should know about Sabbatical leaves

Ever heard about ‘Sabbatical leaves’?

We often come across terms like

Maternity/Paternity leaves
Bereavement leaves
Sick leaves
Caretaker duty leaves

These types of leaves are known to the masses but what about ‘Sabbatical’ leaves?

Well, to make matters clear; known in Greek as ‘sabbatikos’, ‘Sabbatical’ refers to rest/break from work!

Applying for Sabbatical leaves in 2023:

Just a few months away, the year twenty-twenty-three awaits us allowing us to focus on self-growth and enhancement. Unlike the previous couple of years where COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc, leaving us isolated in homes or working online without any major entertainment left to try, 2023 would be a new beginning with the pandemic much under control but what role would ‘Sabbatical leaves’ play for our wellbeing?

To find out, it’s better to go through some highlighted chunks of information!

How did it originate?

Digging into the roots of this leave, one finds that the universities were the first to offer such leaves often known as P.T.O (Paid time off) lasting about 6 months maximum to allow the professors to teach or do research whilst they try to polish themselves in their respective fields but now it seems that it’s becoming a norm to offer such leaves to general workforce population.

Popularity:

Looking at the stats, 19-23% companies in the United States of America offer Sabbatical leaves which shows that, although they may be uncommon but are beginning to grow and be a part of the policy of giant companies!

What’s the need?

As Zoe Zantamata once said, “Taking time to do nothing often sets everything into perspective” throws light onto one of the reasons behind taking the sabbatical leaves.

These kinds of leaves allows one to be free from the shackles of everyday routine, liberating the mind and the body to do the things of interest like

Vacationing
Doing research
Spending quality time with kith and kin
Enrolling in short courses of interest

What’s the advantage?

When one asks about the repercussions of such leaves from a workplace employee who works eight hours straight every day without any prioritisation of personal needs, he immediately calls it a ‘detoxifying’ experience!

Stress in the workplace is a significant concern for companies around the world. According to one study, 80% of Americans face stress at the workplace often resulting in deteriorating mental and physical health thus leading to poorer quality of life.

Needless to say, uncaging a bird to fly around with liberty creates so much joy for it leaves us with thoughts about personal happiness and freedom which comes with Sabbatical leaves!

Unpaid vs Paid

It is estimated that only a small percentage of companies around the world are willing to offer paid sabbatical leaves including some giants like:

Adobe
Anthrex
AutoDesk
Baker Donelson
Hyland Software

But one must realise that in the end, what matters the most is ‘happiness’ and shouldn’t be balanced out with paid or unpaid leaves. After all, it’s the ‘time’ that we get the leverage of, which can never be bought!

How long do the leaves last?

Nothing can be said with certainty about the duration or the eligibility criteria of leaves since it mostly depends upon the policy of individual companies.

However just to give a fair idea, most of the companies on average grant sabbatical leaves lasting 4 to 5 weeks to the ones employed for more than five years as an estimate.

What’s in store for the employers?

It’s not only the workforce which benefits but the employers too as the employees return to work with a fresh mind and enhanced skills as well as with a more focused approach to work.

As they say, ‘a win-win situation for both’ no?

Conclusion:

After grasping the idea about the sabbatical leaves, it’s important to get to know the policy of the company you work under regarding sabbatical leaves!

As for 2023, a new year comes with new opportunities and a chance to show some untapped potential while using the sabbatical leaves to their best!