To think everyone should be able to take career breaks

[Sakura7]

Most of us will work for 40+ years over the course of our careers, and during that time we give up most of our days, for most of our weeks, to work. The typical annual leave allowance of about 4 weeks is not a lot spread over the course of a year, and a week or two off in the summer and at Christmas is just not enough to properly disconnect from work and come back refreshed.

I've worked full time continuously for 12 years now and I'm exhausted. I do have pressures in my life outside of work and they are so much harder to deal with when your time is so limited. I feel like a hamster on a wheel and the thought of doing this relentlessly for the next 30+ years is extremely depressing.

I'd love a career break but it really seems to be frowned upon unless you're in your 20s and going travelling. Whenever I mention this to people in real life I get comments like "you can't just give up a good job", "it'll be harder to get a job when you're not in one already", "it's really bad to have a gap on your CV", etc.

Is it so crazy to think that people will be happier and more productive if given a proper chance to have a rest and focus on other things in their lives for a while? I really believe that once people have worked for a certain number of years continuously (say 5 or 10 years), they should be entitled to take a few months off outside of annual leave allowance, and that they should even get some kind of benefit to help financially for some of that time. It would be one way for the government to show it's serious about rewarding work.

I just think there's so much more to life than work, and while it is important, society shouldn't be so obsessed with it. There needs to be a balance.

I realise my idea would be highly unlikely to happen but I'm just curious if others feel the same.

I really believe that once people have worked for a certain number of years continuously (say 5 or 10 years), they should be entitled to take a few months off outside of annual leave allowance, and that they should even get some kind of benefit to help financially for some of that time. It would be one way for the government to show it's serious about rewarding work.

The organisation I work for allows staff to take a sabbatical (unpaid) of up to 12 months when they have 5 years' service or more. People have used this time to study, to travel, to volunteer, to care for a terminally ill relative, to build a house, to write a book - all sorts of things, really.

I think it's a fantastic idea, and would like to see more employers do it. It's no more disruptive to service delivery than someone taking maternity leave, and really helps restore work-life balance.

It's called long service leave in Australia, and it's very civilised. It varies depending on where you live but after about 10 years with the same company you get 2-3 months off on full pay. Some places let you take it at half. And you can tag on your normal leave so it's possible to take quite a long time off. It encourages people to stay with a company so good for skills retention and gives people a well earned break.

Can't see it happening in zero hours minimum wage low productivity Britain though :-(

Fortunately my DH gets a 3 month paid sabbatical every 10 years and if you add it to his six week's annual leave it means we can go away for 41/2 months at a time.

Last time we went to Thailand (had a house for 2 months) then to Singapore, Beijing and other Chinese areas. Next time (4 years and counting) we are doing India!

We have a friend who negotiated 6 months unpaid leave from his long term job to have a "timeout". If they value you your company may do the same as, after all, they give maternity leave to people all the time. No reason why they may not agree to a sabbatical.

I do like the idea of being able to take an unpaid sabatical once you've done so many years of service.
I disagree other people should fund your holiday though, whatever you use it for.
Of course, so many people do jobs that it would be difficult to get someone to 'just cover for 6 months', which would make life difficult for employers , colleagues, etc.

Do whatever you like, as long as you pay for it. I totally disagree with getting any form of benefits whilst doing so.

You're already rewarded for working - it's called a salary.

Also I think the significant chunk of taxes I've paid so far count for something!

Your tax contributes to running the country - it's not a savings account you can dip into for benefit payments because you fancy a break FFS.

A company I worked for offered a couple of months unpaid leave, but it was at discretion of your manager and I believe that the terms were that they could not guarantee your job would be there on your return. Only a few people took up this option, mostly people who had families that lived abroad. I've had a couple of weeks unpaid leave for various reasons and it was much appreciated. However, I had savings to fund myself. In my current job I work shifts, so every off shift now feels like a holiday, compared to working 9 to 5 !

LeftRightCentre
they should be entitled to take a few months off outside of annual leave allowance, and that they should even get some kind of benefit to help financially for some of that time. It would be one way for the government to show it's serious about rewarding work.
I understood it as 2 separate things:

1. Some kind of benefit which could well be employer given or state driven
2. Government demonstrating they care about work by giving people after X number of years the right to take the leave.

Nothing in the OP's post led me to believe they were proposing taxpayer funded holidays.

Later posts do though.

I agree that it shouldn't be state paid. I do think the government could make it an employment right like a long service benefit.

Unpaid leave = fine, if your employer can accommodate it

Paid leave / paid for by Govt = wouldn't support this. I don't want to pay more in fees to your employer to fund your holiday. I don't want to pay more in taxes to fund your holiday

a friend of mine worked for John Lewis for many years and last year got 6 months off ( paid I think ! ). It's like a career break/ sabbatical. I thought it was a great idea. I have worked as a Nurse in the NHS for 30 years and left recently as so stressed and burnt out. Shame they can't do the same although the Annual leave is reasonable.

I’ve had months off between jobs before and love it! Although some people do look at you in a funny way for not having a job.

I’m in a fortunate financial position where I can afford to take time off. I don’t exactly have an amazing career though!

Polarbear
I'm very tempted to take that approach. I can afford to do it for a few months anyway. The main worry is explaining it in job interviews, or taking longer than expected to get a job. Good to hear it worked out for you.

I suppose the (small, time limited) benefit idea is more for people who can't afford the break but really need it. Doesn't seem to be very popular anyway so fair enough!

In actual interviews I just say I took some time out to travel or whatever. It’s not stopped me getting jobs.

I’m on a break now as my last (temping) job was so hideous I quit. I’ve been on holiday and signed up for a course at the local college! Also thinking about topping up some Open University credits to make my study a degree, writing a novel and starting my own business!

Much, much better than working full time in some crappy office even if it leads me with the “dreaded CV gap.”

I'm currently off on maternity and can't wait to go back to work! I have no interest in taking a career break, i really enjoy my job and have what i consider a great work/life balance

Some of the shit I read on here sometimes.