University professors get sabbaticals – periods to refresh and devote themselves to their research interests. But the notion of sabbaticals is foreign in the rest of the work world, even if they can be transformative, according to a recent study.
For professors, a sabbatical is normally a year. But the research found for other people it’s simply an extended break from your job lasting long enough to truly distance yourself from your normal work life. It comes in three types: Working holidays, intense exploration and wanderlust, and quests.
Working holidays allowed people to devote themselves to a passion project such as volunteering for a think tank or founding a startup. “During a working holiday, they alternated between intense periods of work and dedicated breaks to rest and rekindle long-neglected relationships. For instance, one interviewee interspersed hunkering down upstate to write a novel with visiting New York City to have fun, connect and decompress,” researchers Kira Schabram, Matt Bloom and DJ DiDonna write in Harvard Business Review.
Through this combination of chosen work and rest, they came to terms with the little voice in their head pulling them into other interests and became, in the researchers’ words, “more sure-footed” with themselves and their decisions. Most returned to their former jobs but with new confidence about how to make that work fit them.
The second category, labelled free divers, involved an adventure and soul reset, often kindled by inspiring memoirs or tales from friends. “Free divers leaped out of work and dove straight into intense exploration – think finishing work on Friday and getting on a plane on Saturday to trek Nepal, sail the Pacific or backpack Patagonia,” the researchers write.
This travel was often far more intense than expected and they often needed breaks from their breaks in order to rest and heal. The sabbatical allowed them to shed expectations and embrace a more authentic life. Most returned to their profession but not their previous work, pursuing new projects, positions or employers that better fit their talents and values.
Quests provided the most dramatic changes. “Questers weren’t pulled into projects or adventures but pushed out of work by unsustainable expectations and toxic organizational cultures. Exhausted and burned out, the sabbatical was a last resort because continuing on their current path was untenable,” the researchers say.
The sabbaticals started slow with extended time to heal; then they ventured out, pushing their personal limits to discover themselves; and finally as they gained perspective, they grew eager to put that growth into practice and pursued non-routine work like certification and gig employment.
It’s often thought that sabbaticals don’t involve any work but most of the people studied did work, helping to fund their break and also testing or improving their talents (and instilling pride). Half of them took their sabbatical alone and the other half were joined by partners or children.
Mr. DiDonna, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, told Charter that many Type A people fear taking a few months off to relax, sitting on a beach and sipping a coconut. But sabbaticals can be dedicated to high-effort activities and those can also be refreshing. “Folks are out in nature, they’re doing a bucket-list hike, or they’re sailing across the ocean, or they’re travelling on a road trip with three kids in an RV, and those things are actually quite restorative for them,” he notes.
He took his sabbatical at 32 and says that such breaks need not just be a mid-career activity. He found young people who had burned out in their twenties after a few years of intense work needed a break. Others found they had started work at age 14 or 15 and after a decade, including time at university, wanted a refresher. “I would say, take it as early as you can,” he advises.
Quick hits
- The gap between impossible and normal keeps getting shorter and shorter, observes entrepreneur Seth Godin.
- Do you have a scheduled time for quiet every day, consultant Joe McCormack asked in a recent newsletter? Are you more concerned about being busy and staying connected than setting aside a few minutes for silence?
- Golfers encounter the yips, involuntary twitches and spasms from anxiety that make them unable to putt. Communication Coach John Millen says it can occur at work as well and you must confront your fears rather than withdraw from the stress-causing activity. Take small steps forward, perhaps with the aid of breathing and movement to calm your nerves.
- Few things are more important in life than avoiding the wrong people, notes Farnam Street blogger Shane Parrish.
Harvey Schachter is a Kingston-based writer specializing in management issues. He, along with Sheelagh Whittaker, former CEO of both EDS Canada and Cancom, are the authors of When Harvey Didn’t Meet Sheelagh: Emails on Leadership.