Taking a Career Break Shouldn't Break Your Career

Taking a six-month sabbatical was one of the best decisions I've ever made in relation to work and well-being. It was also downright terrifying.

My Six-Month Sabbatical Journey

While the benefits to individuals and employers can be vast, societal attitudes and company approaches are still catching up with the structural changes in our workforce. In this article, I’ll share why I chose to step away from work, how I did it, and the profound benefits I experienced.

The Day Everything Changed

I'll never forget that fateful Friday when we all gathered at a meeting to hear that our company was shutting down. Redundancy can make you feel exactly that – redundant.

We weren't alone. Thousands in the tech sector faced job losses in 2023, and start-ups collapsed amid economic shifts and funding reprioritisations. This reality should remove the stigma from career breaks, but many still fear the impact on their future prospects, even if they can afford to take an extended break.

Why Now?

Losing my job in the midst of an economic downturn could have been disastrous. Yet, I'd learned that worrying only leads to more worry. On the Saturday morning after the announcement, I sat with my notepad and calmly wrote down my options:

Search for a new job
Return to consultancy
Take a long break
Sell everything and move 'overseas'

It was three weeks before Christmas, and with my dad being tested for a rare, terminal cancer, this time was a reminder that life is finite, when you live far from your family (I'm an Australian native) any extra time with them is a gift, and time is our most valuable resource.

If not now, when?

I closed my eyes, listened to my heart, and chose the one I least expected: number 3. I felt completely at peace with the decision, and immediately started imagining what I might do.

With the date of my departure drawing closer I had a few short nights wondering if it was the right thing, what I'd do for work when I got back, how I'd get all the preparation done, and what would happen if something went wrong with the tenant, the cat or the flat.

It was all just mental 'noise'. Spoiler Alert - everything worked out perfectly!

✨There will never be a 'right time' to take a break. If you're thinking about it, dig deep and find out why you need the break and how you can make it happen. Also check out Shelley Paxton's book Soulbbatical for a different perspective on a sabbatical.

The Journey

My sabbatical/Soulbbatical, which Harvard Business Review calls a "free dive", was about adventure and a soul reset. On reflection, it had three key elements, with each one building on the previous:

Time with family
Time to unwind and decompress
Time for transformation and inner growth

These last two were twin threads that ran through my entire sabbatical but there were specific trips/activities dedicated to each.

I started with adventure travel in Cambodia and Thailand, meeting up with family while they vacationed on a long-planned trip to Southern Thailand. It was serendipitous that I could join them, create some wonderful memories and discuss my dad’s prognosis. The steamy tropical weather forced me to slow down through long afternoon naps despite all the activities I managed to cram in - from Angkor Wat e-biking to cooking classes, snorkelling and diving, river kayaking, waterfall hunting, and exploratory trips to remote temple sights or far flung islands and beaches.

Next, I free dived into Mexico, immersing myself in the culture, practicing Spanish and backpacking across the Southern States to experience a diversity of sights, tastes and local traditions. Throughout Mexico I was met with a profound kindness and openness that encouraged me to relax even further, to soften and open my own heart just a little bit wider with each encounter. During this period I noticed my work identity faded and a more joyful, and lighter version of myself emerged. Friends who followed my updates said I looked the happiest they'd ever seen me.

These two phases felt like the preparation I needed to walk the full length of the Camino de Santiago followed and the Camino de San Salvador, walking over 1,000 km in 43 days. The first route is a legendary pilgrimage from St Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, covering some 800km. The second is a tough mountainous route from Leon to Oviedo with big skies and breathtaking scenery, but arduous and sometimes dangerous mountain trails. This was perhaps the most transformative element of my sabbatical.

Both routes tested me - physically, mentally and emotionally, showing me my edges and inviting me to push through them. They viscerally reminded me how powerful, resilient and adaptable we can all be.

Like so many who set out across the Pyrenees from St Jean on that wet and windy Good Friday, I embarked on this journey alone, but finished feeling deeply connected to the people I met. Over 43 days, I forged deep connections and created lifelong memories with my "Camino Family" - deep gratitude to Daniel Perl, Dora Feher, Debra Carl PCC, CPC, M.Div, D.Min, & Noel (and the many other pilgrims I shared time with) for their companionship in this incredible experience.

Further insights from the Camino

The Camino isn’t just a walk, it’s a personal hero’s journey with universal lessons in trust, gratitude, humility, inner strength and kindness. It’s also a transpersonal experience where you share the path, a dorm and your daily life with pilgrims from around the world. You’ll build or hone your skills in financial management and budgeting, decision making, resilience (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual), self-reliance, communication, adaptability, interdependence, and well-being.

Most of all, you face yourself on those endless roads, discovering who you truly are. While you walk your own path, you’re never truly ‘alone’. There’s no winners or losers, since the reward isn’t the destination, it’s the journey itself.

Planning and Execution

My departure looked easy from the outside, but it required careful planning:

Budgeting: I created a detailed budget in MS Excel for each trip, linking it to a year-long budget/cash flow analysis to ensure I could live within my means, make conscious choices when plans changed and run scenarios if needed. (I created a template if anyone's interested)
Housing: I explored rental options through agencies, Airbnb and the private market. In the end I found a tenant through my network a few days before I left, who also cared for my cat - amazingly serendipitous.
Certifications and Insurance: I updated my insurance and obtained necessary certifications to sub-lease my property and meet landlord obligations.
Flexibility: I embraced spontaneity, booking accommodations only a day or two in advance. This was really hard for me since it was the opposite of how I usually do things.
Work: I continued coaching my clients virtually, maintaining continuity for them without compromising my sabbatical.

Returning and Integrating

Before leaving, I identified contacts to talk about potential opportunities for my return, while remaining completely open to the possibility of a significant change in direction if that's where I landed. Writing from my home in London, I'm still figuring out that bigger picture while I integrate everything that has happened.

However, taking the time away, has given me clarity on what meaningful work looks like, how I'd like my life to 'feel', what impactful work looks like in the future, and what needs to change in me as I step into this next phase.

I have been using a close network of friends, and staying connected to my ‘Camino Family’ to help manage the transition to London, and to provide mutual support as we navigate our return to ‘home life’.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, friends (and a few strangers) have commented that I am radiating an unmistakable aura of peace and tranquility, speaking with confidence and a directness that was always there but less pronounced, and that I look great - but 'different'. I'm good with that.

The Benefits

Since the pandemic, there's been a shift toward employee well-being, with companies offering more time off. Sabbaticals aren’t new, but more firms are now offering extended leaves of absence.

Benefits from my Soulbbatical:

Increased Confidence and Self-Reliance: Trusting my decisions and facing their consequences strengthened my inner compass.
Clarity and Authenticity: Time away clarified my values and boundaries.
Resilience and Adaptability: Letting go of plans, adapting to new and sometimes difficult situations, and sharing space with so many other people day after day upgraded my levels of humility and resilience.
Improved Well-Being: Embracing discomfort and wearing myself out through positive effort led to a deeper sense of satisfaction and rejuvenation.

Normalising Career Breaks

I believe career breaks are essential for all workers, whether for parental leave, burnout recovery, or personal growth. Some organisations are creating policies to enable a greater proportion of the workforce to access extended time off, with solid programs to support the business while they are away, and the individual when they return.

No one should feel stigmatised for having a gap in their CV.

One of the risks of offering non-statutory career breaks or sabbaticals is that they can increase existing inequities, so policies need to address fairness and equity, while being mindful of the impact on resources.

Career breaks and sabbaticals offer organisations the chance to foster talent development, giving other employees the opportunity to step into new responsibilities or learn new skills while filling the gap that a 'temporary leaver' creates.

Done well, this may improve overall performance, build organisational resilience and create new opportunities through succession planning.

✨ Considering your own career break?

Everyone's a unicorn when it comes to what needs to be considered, but some of the basics include:

What is the intention for your break? Why are you taking it and what do you want to be different as a result?
How will you fund your time?
Will you 'work'?
How much time will you take?
What constraints do you have?
What does 'coming back' look like for you?
What research or resources will help you to imagine the right career break for you.

Feel free to message me if you have questions about my career break or the Camino <--- this is one topic I really love ❤️ having walked 3 different routes to Santiago de Compostela as well as the path to the end of the world at Finisterre y Muxia. You can also read more here.