Sabbaticals and Other Business Trends -- What are we seeing?

As a hook to Patty’s recent DaVinci quote about sabbaticals, I thought I would share a snippet from a story idea about sabbaticals that we have been pitching to select media. The snippet ties the rise in workplace sabbaticals to three trends. What else are we seeing in the marketplace? What corresponding tools and mechanisms can we suggest to the marketplace?

Sabbaticals aren’t just for academics anymore. Approximately 40 percent of large, 21 percent of mid-sized, and 16 percent of small companies offer paid or unpaid sabbaticals, according to a recent study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Just six years ago, only 15 percent of all companies offered unpaid sabbaticals.

The movement toward workplace sabbaticals is tied to three major business trends.

• Innovation is a priority. Running a company used to be about doing. Now, it is as much about thinking – more specifically, thinking of innovative new ideas that move the market and fuel business growth. Two-thirds of senior executives list innovation as one of their top three priorities for 2007; and it takes an inspired and creative mind to deliver innovation in today’s marketplace. Sabbaticals provide inspiration and fuel creativity for leaders who must deliver innovation.
• Time is the new workplace currency. Benefits managers now say that employees value time off as much or more than dollars. This is true for all generations of employees – from Boomers, who are looking for flexible ways to ease into retirement or extend their earning years – to the sixty-one percent of Gen-Xers who have either taken a sabbatical or express the desire to do so – to Millennials who cite time-off as a pronounced factor in determining acceptance of job offers.
• Career paths are becoming more flexible. In today’s flexible workplace where people change jobs frequently, there is less stigma around employment gaps and employers see value in personal development that comes from pursuing a passion, supporting a charitable organization, or gaining international experience–even via a backpacking trip through Peru. Taking time off is now part of the mainstream and employers realize that making it easy for employees to explore interests outside of work is a good way to build loyalty, increase retention and foster greater creativity at work.