Sabbatical Planning

There are many reasons you should want or need to take a sabbatical. This page offers some reasons and give some resources should you be planning your own sabbatical from Clive Prout.

Find more information from Clive's website: www.thesabbaticalcoach.com

Exploring purpose

Most people give little thought to the question "What is the purpose of my life?", or put another way "What gives meaning to my life?" These questions have a way of getting more important as we grow older. At the same time, we have busy lives with responsibilities and little free time for contemplation. For many people, the best way to generate enough space to tackle these questions is to take a sabbatical - a break from the everyday pressures of work. For these people, the sabbatical is a time of deep inner contemplation. Many of my clients use my services to facilitate the inner exploration of values, purpose and vocation while preparing for and taking a sabbatical.

Changing Track

Another reason people take sabbaticals is because they have clarity that their current career path has run it's course. Perhaps they have grown, and are discovering a fresh set of values which are not fully honored in their current work. Whatever the underlying cause, they know that they need to change the way they work: that sticking with their current course will lead to stagnation and death of the soul. For this group, taking a sabbatical is a way to express the commitment to change, to finding a new way of making a living that is more in line with their values - more of a vocation. The majority of my clients are in this category.

Rejuvenation

The third category I see is people who are on track in life and know it. They have a clear sense of their life purpose and see their work as a vocation. Because they are so driven by their passion and purpose, these people are prone to overwork and burn out. For this group the sabbatical is a way to rest and renew so that they can come back to their life's work re-energized and ready for more. I don't see too many people of this type. I hope it is because they don't need my services, and not simply that they are a rarity!

Escape

This last category contains the majority of sabbatical leave takers. The first three of my sabbaticals were taken for this reason - I just couldn't stay any longer. I longed for autonomy, freedom and adventure. The fact that people in this category have no plan for sustaining then autonomy when they return from their break does not matter to them, they just wanted out for a while.

History of Sabbaticals

Sabbaticals have a long history. In biblical times, sabbatical years occurred every seventh year. For that whole year there was no cultivation, people and fields rested and rejuvenated.

For centuries Sabbaticals have been a part of the tradition in academia and many churches. Tenured professors and clergy have been granted sabbatical leave for renewal. They have typically used the time for travel and for research.

The practice of Sabbatical has entered the commercial world in the past 50 years, with major employers such as IBM, Intel, Microsoft, McDonald's, Xerox, Wells Fargo and American Express offering Sabbatical leave programs.

1n 1996, the Society of Human Resource Management found that 33% of it's members offered Sabbatical programs as tools for employee retention.

In the past 10 years the employment environment has changed. Job turnover has increased and employers no longer assume the same levels of responsibility for their employees. In the same way that company pension funds are being replaced by portable 401(k) plans, the Sabbatical is becoming the employee's responsibility.

Meanwhile, the appetite for Sabbaticals is increasing. A 2001 survey quoted by "American Demographics" found that over 60% of Generation X employees (born 1964-1978) want to take an extended leave or Sabbatical.

In the 21st century, the Sabbatical is increasingly being funded from the employees savings rather than being paid for by their employer. In addition, more Sabbaticals are being taken between jobs (sometimes funded by severance packages). Taking the break you want may involve leaving a job with the intention of finding another when you return.