Non-Academic Workplace Sabbaticals: Human Resources (HR) Professionals’Perceptions of Benefits to the Organization

Abstract

Although numerous authors and researchers have written about non-academic workplace sabbaticals, few have investigated benefits to the organization, as opposed to the individual, from the perspective of Human Resources (HR) professionals specifically. Furthermore, there is a dearth of reporting as it relates to return on investment (ROI) from companies with a sabbatical program in place making it difficult for organizations to ascertain the financial implications of introducing sabbaticals as part of their own benefits package. The current study makes use of a mixed-method design to survey HR professionals from the United States who are responsible for the oversight of policies and protocols impacting employee relations including recruitment and retention strategies, compensation, benefits, health and wellness programs, professional development, and personal well-being, thus positioning them for an insider perspective on the organizational benefits of paid and unpaid sabbaticals. Results of this study indicate that 85% of companies who report having a sabbatical program at this time are not objectively measuring the success or failure of this much sought-after benefit despite the fact that HR professionals perceive recruitment, retention, productivity, professional development, corporate social responsibility (CSR) goal fulfillment, and employee recognition as significant benefits to the granting organization. Future researchers of non-academic sabbaticals would be well-served to investigate and report on perceptions from other high-level employee groups as well as specific ways to objectively measure each unique benefit as it relates to ROI in an effort to support others trying to advocate for the use of sabbaticals in their own non-academic workplace.