Is Employee Retention a problem in your organization? Do you find you are in a cycle of securing, training and then losing your greatest talent? More organizations last year added Paid Sabbaticals to their benefit offerings than ever before as a solution to their low retention rates. According to a survey conducted by Huffington Post, companies offering sabbaticals are finding a significant reduction in turnover rates.
Offering tenured talent a paid sabbatical after a pre-determined level of employment has become more popular with organizations around the country in recent years. According to the Society of Human Resources Management, paid sabbatical programs were offered at only 5% of U.S. companies in 2011, and 11% offered them in 2014. For 2016, SHRM states 23% of US companies now offer sabbaticals to tenured employees. In addition, almost 25% of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” offer paid sabbaticals and 34 of the “100 Best Places Workplaces in Europe” offer paid sabbaticals.
The term sabbatical is actually derived from the biblical Sabbath which serves an ancient human need to structure periods of rest and rejuvenation into a lifetime. It allows and encourages employees to take an extended leave from work to pursue a life goal, build a skill, and do something designed to better one’s life. The key goal for the employee is to get away, renew, and refresh.
Not only is this a wonderful opportunity for your valued employee talent, but it also benefits you as an employer. Offering extended, paid time off after 3 or more years of service helps to attract and retain employees while helping to create loyalty and energize the talent. With Millennials and GenXers wanting more flexible time, time off, and opportunities to take extended time for personal needs and interests, Sabbaticals are a way to attract and motivate this younger workforce. In addition, as members of the team are gone on sabbatical, it creates the best practice of cross-training and developing teams of collaboration.
Employees returning for a sabbatical are recharged, rejuvenated, and back to work with a renewed focus. According to Yoursabbatical.com, these extended paid leave times are quite different from regular vacation time off as they outline below:
VACATION |
verses |
SABBATICAL |
| Usually not goal oriented | Achieves personal and career goals | |
| Reflection is possible | Intentional reflection is necessary | |
| Work waits for your return | Work has a solid coverage plan | |
| Smart Phone is on | Smart Phone is unplugged to business | |
| Optional sharing upon return | Planned sharing with boss and co-workers | |
| Planned according to interests | Planned according to interests & outcomes | |
| Little thought to enhancing career/life | Purpose is to enhance career/life | |
| Focus on recovery | Focus on rejuvenation | |
| Possible increase in creativity | Intentional focus on more creative juice |
So how does this program work? Let’s use the example of Adobe’s sabbatical plan. They offer paid sabbaticals beginning after the employees 5th year anniversary for full time employees and eligibility repeats every 5 years following that date of continued full time employment. The 5-year employee is granted 4 weeks of paid sabbatical leave, to be taken all in one lump period, and within one year of being eligible. The employee is allowed to use additional accrued paid time with management approval and a minimum 60 day employee notice is required. All pay while on sabbatical is paid at the normal active rate of pay and benefits continue as if the employee is actively working. Any funding or retirement matching is not affected by taking the sabbatical leave. Other companies with plans in place have their employees eligible after 3 years and others after 7 or even 10 years. Companies range the length of paid sabbatical from 4 weeks to 3 months. There are also companies who offer the sabbaticals based on tenure but the time off is unpaid.
Offering Sabbaticals is a growing trend that not only helps companies with retaining talent, but this benefit also has the ability to brand your organization as an employer of choice. It can give your company that extra advantage to foster a better work-life balance, create employee loyalty, and develop a culture of innovation.
Eileen has practiced HR for over 30 years and has served in both large companies and boutique companies, including Disney, Hasbro, and Umpqua Bank. She currently serves on the board of directors for the EDD/EAC as well as the NCHRA. A Bay Area native, Eileen enjoys visiting Lake Tahoe, reading, and spending time with her family.