The Herman Trend Alert
October 19, 2022
Sabbaticals
This Herman Trend Alert was supposed to be about Bounties and Sabbaticals, but three things happened: first, I had a change of guests for my TV show, which meant that I needed hours of extra time to prepare for the interview which took place on Tuesday evening in Dubai (morning in the States); second, I was blessed that I was in coach with a reclining passenger in front of me between Dubai and Heathrow, so I could not write; and finally, there was very little on Bounties online, so I will need to do more original research to do justice to this topic for you. Thank you for understanding.
On my way to Dubai, I stopped off in NYC and had lunch with my daughter Samantha who lives in Brooklyn. When she mentioned that her employer Adobe offers sabbaticals, it reminded me how important this valuable benefit was during the labor shortages around the year 2000---and even into 2001 before 9/11.
History is Repeating Itself
If you have been paying attention, you know that the United States and much of the developed world is experiencing critical scarcities of qualified applicants. In fact, there are over 11 million open positions---many of which have been open for months. Differentiating themselves with "special" benefits is more important for employers than ever before. (By the way, during the Pandemic, many companies cut back on their benefits; I think this move was short-sighted.)
Sabbaticals Qualify as Special Benefits
According to BuiltIn.com, there are 385 companies currently offering sabbaticals, and that number is increasing almost daily. Obviously, I cannot talk about all of them, so I will simply talk about a handful. First, let me define "sabbatical."
Sabbaticals Defined
The origin of sabbaticals was academia. In the past, colleges and universities gave their tenured professors six months, or more often, a year off with pay to further their research or in some way enhance their ability to teach their chosen subject. When Roger Herman and I published the book Lean & Meaningful: A New Culture for Corporate America in 1998, in our section on Sabbaticals, we covered the extra time given by Microsoft and Hallmark. Corporate sabbaticals are a different kind of time off. Sabbatical Leave is not vacation time or paid parental leave or personal days. It is an extended period of a few weeks to a few months of additional paid time off during which long-tenured employees may achieve their educational goals, or travel or live abroad, or pursue some creative outlet or even build a house.
Some Unexpected Companies Offering Sabbaticals
Many companies on the BuiltIn list did not surprise me, including high tech and large corporates. What surprised me a lot were the retail and fast-food restaurants that are on the list. The clothing company Patagonia, the company for outdoor clothing, offers its employees a unique Environmental Internship Program. This highly socially responsible company gives its employees up to two months paid time off to work with their chosen environmental group. Qualifying employees who work for The Cheesecake Factory may take a three-week sabbatical after five years with the restaurant chain. Sadly, most qualifying positions are located at the company's California headquarters, though any hourly staff member may qualify for this paid time off. The next one was a real surprise to me. The fast-food giant McDonald's gives its corporate employees an eight-week paid sabbatical for every 10 years of full-time continuous employment---as does the pet food company, Purina. With close to 1000 outlets in 16 states, the convenience store chain QuikTrip provides paid sabbaticals to both full and part-time employees. After 15 years, employees of the outdoor retailer REI earn a four-week paid sabbatical after 15 years of working and every five years thereafter. The Container Store, the closet, storage, and organization products' retailer, offers its full-time employees a paid sabbatical after 10 years of work. The footwear company Timberland offers employees paid community service or a service sabbatical as part of their flexible work environment. Every year, employees may take up to 40 hours of paid time off for their volunteer efforts. Finally, the incomparable shoe brand Nike, after 10 years of service, gives their valued employees 100 hours of paid time off, plus additional hours every five years after that.
Sabbaticals and the Future
With the competition for talent at all levels, it is not surprising to see the exponential rise in the number of sabbaticals. When I first started writing this Herman Trend Alert, a week ago, BuiltIn.com posted 380 companies offering sabbaticals; today, there are 385. Employers worldwide are currently looking to differentiate themselves and that is a rising the tide for all. As we move into the future, you may expect to see more---and better---sabbaticals, as companies jockey to position themselves as the company offering the best benefits and perks to prospects. I do not see this trend changing, even as the economy contracts. Top talent will always be in high demand.
Next Week's Herman Trend Alert: From Conflict to Peace
At the end of our 15-day Viking cruise last month, we landed in Montreal, Canada. There, I had the pleasure of meeting Stephen Hecht, Founder and CEO of Million Peacemakers. Co-author of the book Nonflict: the Art of Everyday Peacemaking, Stephen is dedicated to helping individuals resolve conflict. His is the first method I have encountered that might work. This Alert will not only give you a roadmap for resolving your own conflict (large or small) but will also let you know how you can support the effort. Note: I will be interviewing Stephen live on October 27th on my TV Show, "It's Your Future with Joyce Gioia" at 2:30 pm Eastern Time. Visit (WAITING TO RECEIVE) to join the live show.
To view the article used as once source for this article, visit https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/make-money/career/companies-offering-sabbaticals/
To see BuiltIn.com's complete list of companies offering sabbaticals, visit https://builtin.com/companies/perks/sabbatical.
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