Monzo to McDonald's | Why more employers are offering staff sabbaticals - and reaping the rewards

As a Gen Zer who has been in the workforce for barely over five years, the notion of taking a sabbatical feels like one of those dreamy company perks of yesteryear.

An amazing premise that I would gladly take advantage of one day—but with short tenures and job-hopping an increasingly viable way to boost pay and career mobility benefits, how much longer will it be on the table?

Companies want and need their most valuable employees present at work as much as possible, and with a widespread demand for skills and institutional knowledge, sanctioning a lengthy break for those workers seems counterintuitive. In the world of business bottom-lines, tight budgets and shareholder scrutiny, does it still make sense for employers to offer long-serving employees the freedom to take several weeks or months away from work?

I was reassured, then, to read a recent article published in Harvard Business Review which reminded employers that the juice of sabbaticals is very much worth the squeeze. As DJ DiDonna, the author, asserted: “The benefits of allowing your employees to take sabbaticals often outweigh the risks.”