Sabbatical

A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: שַׁבָּת Šabat (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin sabbaticus; Greek: sabbatikos [σαββατικός] Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 1) (help)) is a rest or break from work; "an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job."^[1]

The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of shmita (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to Leviticus 25, Jews in the Land of Israel must take a year-long break from working the fields every seven years.^[2]

Starting with Harvard University in 1880, many universities and other institutional employers of scientists, physicians, and academics offer the opportunity to qualify for paid sabbatical as an employee benefit, called sabbatical leave.^[3]^[4] Early academic sabbatical policies were designed to aid their faculty in resting and recovering, but were also provided in order to facilitate "advancements in knowledge in vogue elsewhere...an intellectual and practical necessity" for both the professors and university education more broadly.^[5] Present-day academic sabbaticals typically excuse the grantee from day-to-day teaching and departmental duties, though progress on research is expected to continue, if not increase, while away. Academic sabbaticals come in the form of either semester-long or full-academic year terms.

A sabbatical has also come to mean a lengthy, intentional break from a career for non-academic professionals as well. There are very few norms and expectations for non-academic, or professional, sabbaticals. They can be paid or unpaid, affiliated with one's employer or self-directed, and have a variety of durations, from several weeks to over a year.

A 2022 study of working professionals on extended leave identified three types of sabbaticals:^[6]

Working Holidays - characterized by "intense periods of work and dedicated breaks to rest and rekindle long-neglected relationships."
Free Dives - during which participants "leaped out of work and dove straight into intense exploration."
Quests - which found people "pushing their personal limits to discover themselves."

The popularity of sabbaticals for non-academics has increased in the 21st century: 17% of companies offered some sort of sabbatical policy to their employees in 2017, according to a survey by the Society For Human Resource Management.^[7]

Sabbaticals are also becoming more common in the medical profession, and are being used in intense subfields such as emergency medicine to reduce physician burnout.^[8]

References

^ Schabram, Kira; Bloom, Matt; Didonna, Dj (4 November 2022). "Recover, Explore, Practice: The Transformative Potential of Sabbaticals". Academy of Management Discoveries. 9 (4): 441–468. doi:10.5465/amd.2021.0100. ISSN 2168-1007. S2CID 253358782.
^ Meyer, Esias E. (2005). The Jubilee in Leviticus 25: A Theological Ethical Interpretation from a South African Perspective. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 236. ISBN 978-3-8258-8805-3.
^ Else, Holly (16 April 2015). "Sabbaticals: no longer so open-ended or available?". Times Higher Education (THE). Retrieved 26 January 2022.
^ Eells, Walter C. (September 1962). "The Origin and Early History of Sabbatical Leave". Bulletin, American Association of University Professors. 48 (3): 253–256. doi:10.2307/40222893. JSTOR 40222893.
^ Eliot, Charles (31 May 1880). "Harvard University Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer". Harvard University Annual Reports 1879-1880. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^ Schabram, Kira; Bloom, Matt; DiDonna, D. J. (22 February 2023). "Research: The Transformative Power of Sabbaticals". Harvard Business Review. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
^ "2017 Employee Benefits" (PDF). Society For Human Resource Management. February 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^ Throop, John; Powell, Don; Slywka, Bradley (16 November 2022). "A Successful Sabbatical Program to Reduce Burnout in Emergency Medicine Physicians". NEJM Catalyst. 3 (12). doi:10.1056/CAT.22.0209. ISSN 2642-0007. S2CID 253621795.

External links

Gap year travel guide from Wikivoyage

[1] Schabram, Kira; Bloom, Matt; Didonna, Dj (4 November 2022). "Recover, Explore, Practice: The Transformative Potential of Sabbaticals". Academy of Management Discoveries. 9 (4): 441–468. doi:10.5465/amd.2021.0100. ISSN 2168-1007. S2CID 253358782.

[2] Meyer, Esias E. (2005). The Jubilee in Leviticus 25: A Theological Ethical Interpretation from a South African Perspective. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 236. ISBN 978-3-8258-8805-3.

[3] Else, Holly (16 April 2015). "Sabbaticals: no longer so open-ended or available?". Times Higher Education (THE). Retrieved 26 January 2022.

[4] Eells, Walter C. (September 1962). "The Origin and Early History of Sabbatical Leave". Bulletin, American Association of University Professors. 48 (3): 253–256. doi:10.2307/40222893. JSTOR 40222893.

[5] Eliot, Charles (31 May 1880). "Harvard University Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer". Harvard University Annual Reports 1879-1880. Retrieved 24 June 2022.

[6] Schabram, Kira; Bloom, Matt; DiDonna, D. J. (22 February 2023). "Research: The Transformative Power of Sabbaticals". Harvard Business Review. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 31 March 2023.

[7] "2017 Employee Benefits" (PDF). Society For Human Resource Management. February 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2022.

[8] Throop, John; Powell, Don; Slywka, Bradley (16 November 2022). "A Successful Sabbatical Program to Reduce Burnout in Emergency Medicine Physicians". NEJM Catalyst. 3 (12). doi:10.1056/CAT.22.0209. ISSN 2642-0007. S2CID 253621795.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

v t e Employment
Classifications	Academic tenure Casual Contingent work Full-time job Gig worker Job sharing Part-time job Self-employment Side job Skilled worker Journeyman Technician Tradesperson Independent contractor Labour hire Temporary work Laborer Wage labour
Hiring	Application Background check Business networking Cover letter Curriculum vitae Drug testing Employment contract Employment counsellor Executive search list Induction programme Job fair Job fraud Job hunting Job interview Letter of recommendation Onboarding Overqualification Person–environment fit Personality–job fit theory Personality hire Probation Recruitment Résumé Simultaneous recruiting of new graduates Underemployment Work-at-home scheme
Roles	Cooperative Employee Employer Internship Job Labour hire Permanent employment Supervisor Volunteering
Working class	Blue-collar Green-collar Grey-collar Pink-collar Precariat White-collar Red-collar New-collar No-collar Orange-collar Scarlet-collar Black-collar Gold-collar
Career and training	Apprenticeship Artisan Master craftsman Avocation Career assessment Career counseling Career development Coaching Creative class Education Continuing education E-learning Employability Further education Graduate school Induction training Knowledge worker Licensure Lifelong learning Overspecialization Practice-based professional learning Professional association Professional certification Professional development Professional school Reflective practice Retraining Vocational education Vocational school Vocational university Mentorship Occupational Outlook Handbook Practice firm Profession Operator Professional Tradesman Vocation
Attendance	Break Break room Career break Furlough Gap year Leave of absence Long service leave No call, no show Sabbatical Sick leave Time clock
Schedules	35-hour workweek Four-day week Eight-hour day 996 working hour system Flextime On-call Overtime Remote work Six-hour day Shift work Working time Workweek and weekend
Wages and salaries	Income bracket Income tax Living wage Maximum wage National average salary World Europe Minimum wage Canada Hong Kong Europe United States Progressive wage Singapore Overtime rate Paid time off Performance-related pay Salary cap Wage compression Working poor
Benefits	Annual leave Casual Friday Child care Disability insurance Health insurance Life insurance Marriage leave Parental leave Pension Sick leave United States Take-home vehicle
Safety and health	Crunch Epilepsy and employment Human factors and ergonomics Karoshi List of countries by rate of fatal workplace accidents Occupational burnout Occupational disease Occupational exposure limit Occupational health psychology Occupational injury Occupational noise Occupational stress Personal protective equipment Repetitive strain injury Right to sit United States Sick building syndrome Work accident Occupational fatality Workers' compensation Workers' right to access the toilet Workplace health promotion Workplace phobia Workplace wellness
Equal opportunity	Affirmative action Equal pay for equal work Gender pay gap Glass ceiling
Infractions	Corporate collapses and scandals Accounting scandals Control fraud Corporate behaviour Corporate crime Discrimination Exploitation of labour Dress code Employee handbook Employee monitoring Evaluation Labour law Sexual harassment Sleeping while on duty Wage theft Whistleblower Workplace bullying Workplace harassment Workplace incivility
Willingness	Boreout Careerism Civil conscription Conscription Critique of work Dead-end job Job satisfaction McJob Organizational commitment Refusal of work Slavery Bonded labour Human trafficking Labour camp Penal labour Peonage Truck wages Unfree labour Wage slavery Work ethic Work–life interface Downshifting Slow living Workaholic
Termination	At-will employment Dismissal Banishment room Constructive dismissal Wrongful dismissal Employee offboarding Exit interview Layoff Notice period Pink slip Resignation Letter of resignation Restructuring Retirement Mandatory retirement Retirement age Retirement planning Severance package Golden handshake Golden parachute Turnover
Unemployment	Barriers to entry Discouraged worker Economic depression Great Depression Long Depression Frictional unemployment Full employment Graduate unemployment Involuntary unemployment Jobless recovery Phillips curve Recession Great Recession Job losses caused by the Great Recession Lists of recessions Recession-proof job Reserve army of labour Structural unemployment Technological unemployment Types of unemployment Unemployment benefits Unemployment Convention, 1919 Unemployment extension List of countries by unemployment rate Employment-to-population ratio List Wage curve Youth unemployment
Public programs	Workfare Unemployment insurance Make-work job Job creation program Job creation index Job guarantee Employer of last resort Guaranteed minimum income Right to work Historical: U.S.A.: Civil Works Administration Works Progress Administration Comprehensive Employment and Training Act
See also	Bullshit job Busy work Credentialism and educational inflation Emotional labor Evil corporation Going postal Kiss up kick down Labor rights Make-work job Narcissism in the workplace Post-work society Presenteeism Psychopathy in the workplace Sunday scaries Slow movement (culture) Toxic leader Toxic workplace Workhouse
See also templates Aspects of corporations Aspects of jobs Aspects of occupations Aspects of organizations Aspects of workplaces Corporate titles Critique of work Organized labor

See also

References

Further reading

External links