Whether it’s a mini-sabbatical or an adult gap year, more people are taking extended work breaks

If you daydream about getting a break from work, you might picture two weeks of vacation or a long weekend getaway. But some people dare to imagine something bigger and find ways to get a substantial breather from stress or their day-to-day routines.

Mini-sabbaticals, adult gap years, micro-retirement – extended career breaks go by many names and take many forms. Some use the time between jobs to explore, others take an employer-approved leave, become digital nomads, or save up for monthslong adventures. Creating space for a mental, physical, or spiritual reset is the common thread.

Cost, personal responsibilities, and fears of being judged by colleagues, friends, and family members are among the obstacles that prevent people from hitting pause on their work lives to seek new perspectives, according to sabbatical experts and people who have taken such breaks.

American attitudes toward time off differ significantly from those in much of Europe, where free time and rest are prioritized, says Kira Schrabram, an assistant professor of management at the University of Washington’s business school who studies meaningful and sustainable work. In the European Union, workers are legally entitled to at least 20 days of paid vacation annually.

However, more U.S. companies are beginning to allow weeks or months of paid or unpaid leave as a retention strategy for valued employees. Seven years ago, Schrabram joined the Sabbatical Project, an initiative founded by Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer DJ DiDonna that promotes extended breaks as “a sacred human ritual” that should be accessible to more people.

Schrabram, DiDonna, and University of Notre Dame Professor Emeritus Matt Bloom interviewed 50 U.S. professionals who took extended breaks from non-academic jobs. They identified three types of sabbaticals: working holidays involving passion projects; “free dives” combining adventures with rest periods; and quests undertaken by burned-out individuals seeking life-changing experiences after sufficient recovery.

More than half of those interviewed self-funded their breaks. While the researchers made a case for sabbaticals as a talent management tool in the Harvard Business Review, paid extended leaves remain uncommon. “We’re really pushing back on the idea that a sabbatical needs to be sponsored by an employer,” Schrabram noted, explaining that the Sabbatical Project has created a network of coaches and mentors to support those interested in taking time away.

Roshida Dowe was 39 and working as a corporate lawyer in California when she got laid off in 2018. Instead of immediately seeking new employment, she decided to spend a year traveling. Struck by how many people asked how she managed it, Dowe became an online career-break coach.

She and Stephanie Perry, a former pharmacy technician who also took a gap year to travel, co-founded ExodUS Summit, a virtual conference for Black women to discuss sabbaticals and international relocation. The event covers practical considerations like finances, safety, and healthcare, along with philosophical topics such as the value of rest and breaking free of intergenerational trauma.

“When I coach women who are looking to take a sabbatical, the main thing they’re looking for is permission,” said Dowe, who moved to Mexico City as part of her own reinvention.

Perry’s 2014 vacation in Brazil was transformative when she met hostel guests traveling for months, not days. She researched budget travel and discovered people making it work on $40 daily. “I thought for sure people who traveled long term were all trust fund babies,” she said.

Cost remains a common obstacle, but Perry, who has legal residency in Mexico and an apartment in Bogota, Colombia, says there are creative solutions. “Housesitting is the reason I can work very little and travel a lot,” she explained. Through her YouTube channel about traveling as a Black American, Perry raises funds to sponsor Black women on sabbaticals.

When Ashley Graham took a break from her nonprofit work in Washington, D.C., she mapped a road trip that included staying with friends for free. “It was a great way to connect with my past life,” said Graham, who later relocated to New Orleans after falling in love with the city during her travels.

Taylor Anderson, a certified financial planner in Vancouver, Washington, specializes in helping clients plan for sabbaticals. She says many principles for saving for sabbaticals mirror retirement planning, requiring financial discipline and recognizing when it’s appropriate to spend. “We talk about money breathing. Sometimes it’s inhaling, sometimes it’s exhaling,” explained Anderson, who has experienced sabbatical benefits herself.

“Often we find that people do have money saved, but they’re afraid to spend it,” she added. “The question of ‘What is enough?’ is really difficult.” While not everyone can afford to take a month or more without income, Anderson notes that “for those who have built up a nest egg, the cost is actually less than you might assume.”

Artists Eric Rewitzer and Annie Galvin put employees in charge of their San Francisco gallery in 2018 to spend the summer in France and Ireland. “It was terrifying,” said Rewitzer, self-described as previously being a workaholic and control freak. “It was a huge exercise in trust.”

Upon returning, Rewitzer saw San Francisco differently, realizing his life had been out of balance – too much work and too little time in nature. That perspective shift led the couple to buy what they thought would be a weekend home in the Sierra Nevada, which became their full-time residence when they closed their gallery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Gregory Du Bois, taking breaks became a lifelong practice after a college hiatus to be a ski bum in Vail, Colorado. Throughout his corporate IT career, he negotiated for extended time off with each new job, explaining to managers that breaks were essential for optimal performance.

“It’s such a way of life that I almost don’t think of it as sabbaticals,” said Du Bois, who retired from tech and became a life coach in Sedona, Arizona. “For me, it’s a spiritual regeneration.”