Why you should ask for some time off work – and how to do it

Flexible working, quiet quitting, burnout, the great resignation; the employee landscape has seen a lot of change since COVID.

“There’s a lot of evidence to show we are struggling,” says Erica Traicos, who runs a people and culture executive development and organisational design consultancy in Melbourne. She believes career breaks (also referred to as “sabbaticals”) are crucial for our wellbeing. Why?

These days there’s nothing wrong with taking some time off work.Credit: iStock

Because “humans work for a long time”, and people are generally working longer hours than ever.

“Intensity of work is one of the key reasons for burnout. Having a break, while it doesn’t necessarily solve burnout, does help you connect with who you are and your overall wellbeing. I believe employers can benefit from this,” she says.

“Those of us that do have breaks do better – [those] who are finding work-life balance and have interests outside of work; who connect with family, friends and have hobbies.”

Harvard Business Review recently conducted a study, The Transformative Power of Sabbaticals, which explores the benefits of career breaks not just for employees but employers. One finding was that with burnout rates at historic highs, and organisations struggling to find effective interventions, “consider sabbaticals as relatively easy-to-implement, preventative investments”.

Australians are more comfortable with the idea that your life is not your work. As such, career breaks have become even more commonplace.

Despite the evidence, Traicos says that career-break policies in workplaces aren’t as common in Australia as they are in the United States, partly because we have long service leave. Here, governments, universities, big banks, international organisations and other large-scale employers are more likely to have career-break policies.

You might find that even if your job satisfaction is at an all-time high, you want a break. It can feel confusing, but both can coexist.

“People are saying, ‘I love my job but I’m more tired’, and we need to accept that the world is getting more complex, there’s a lot going on. We need to slow down somewhere,” Traicos says.

Even if your employer doesn’t have a career-break policy, there might not be a need to quit your job to take a career break. If you love your job and are eager to keep it, it’s worth asking whether taking an extended break is possible.

How do you raise this with your employer?

If an organisation has a career-break policy, people should use that as a guide. However, whether there’s a policy in place or not, there are a few factors to be considered. First, discussing a career break with an employer early rather than late can help your case.

How early depends on the workplace and role. As some general guidelines for workplaces that don’t have career-break policies, Traicos says if you are in a mid-level position or above and there aren’t many people in your team, raise this six months before you hope to take your career break. If you’re in a comparatively junior role, perhaps four months.

Being an active participant in finding a solution to cover your responsibilities also helps. “If you’re a specialist or very senior and you are going to have a significant impact on the organisation, offer to work through what you being away might look like,” she says.

Traicos says having some tenure under your belt means the employer is more likely to accommodate your request. She adds it’s important to be transparent about how you will use the leave.

“Employers generally ask for this detail. This raises the other issue: reassuring employers that you’re not doing any other work for competitors, or something with a conflict of interest,” she says.

Reaffirming your overall commitment to your workplace is also important, so be sure to make this clear.

Now for the nitty-gritty of asking. Traicos says, “I would advise talking to your leader first, follow up in writing, and include your HR department when sending.”

Is taking a career break stigmatised?

Traicos says Australians are more comfortable with the idea that your life is not your work. As such, time off work and career breaks have become even more commonplace. More employers are also offering career breaks to attract talent.

“People are still getting comfortable with the idea you don’t have to work your head to the grind all the time to be committed to an organisation. This is something I’ve had to get really comfortable with over the years personally,” she says.

For older generations, there has historically been a greater stigma about taking a career break than for the generations that follow. Traicos had worked at organisations that offered career breaks but never took them up on one. “If I had my time over again, I would.”

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