New Study Shows Over-the-Top Benefits and ROI for Career Sabbaticals

Let’s confirm what we already know. Most people, at some point, would like to take time out from work. Of course, there are real and serious questions to consider:

Is a sabbatical a smart career move?

Can a sabbatical make me more committed to my career? To my company?

Will I be transformed by the experience? Will others (my team, boss, etc.) report a noticeable difference in my productivity, thinking, leadership style, and relationships once I return?

Will the benefits last?

If ever a “Halleluiah” was in order for those of us looking for solid answers to these questions through research and statistics, it’s now.  And if your company leadership is looking for the business case for a sabbatical program, read on with gusto. New evidence has just been released, allowing everyone to proceed with sabbatical programs with confidence, passion and resolve.

A just-published survey commissioned by the Louisville Institute reports significant and astounding results for sabbatical takers as well as for their colleagues and constituents. While this is a study of pastoral leaders, the application for businesses – large and small – is extremely relevant. Let’s not play “but we’re so uniquely different.” The Church, like any organization, depends on its leaders for bottom-line sustainability.

Since a comprehensive sabbatical study of business leaders and outcomes for companies doesn’t yet exist, translate the Louisville Institute’s survey results to your company and yourself. I predict you’ll be surprised by this data. And for those trying to influence executive leadership to support a sabbatical program, stay tuned. Along with the following information, there’s more to this study that I’ll present in the next post.

The Louisville Institute’s report is the result of completed surveys from more than half of nearly 500 grantees (pastoral leaders awarded sabbaticals for personal renewal from the Louisville Institute), and nearly 40% of their congregations. The survey was developed and administered by sociologist of religion Jack Marcum and Sheldon Sorge, Associate Director of The Louisville Institute summarized the findings.

Here are some of the key results organized into four parts:

Part I – A Sabbatical: What’s in it For Me?

• 90 % of the sabbatical takers report either a “moderate” or a “large” effect on their subsequent vocational trajectory.
• 87% of pastors report that their sabbatical significantly renewed their commitment to ministry, something noticed also by 86% of congregational observers.
• 80% report that their sabbatical “refreshed or re‐energized” them to a “great extent,” while another 15% say so to a “moderate extent.”
• A number of pastors report developing new ministry engagements as a result of their sabbatical, such as leading seminars, consulting, writing and teaching that brought an experience of vocational expansion resulting in careers that were richer and more satisfying.

Part II – Does a “Personal Experience” Sabbatical Translate to Business Outcomes?

Individuals and companies sometimes question whether a sabbatical focused on a personal experience will really translate to business growth and development. While yourSABBATICAL.com collects anecdotal evidence that clearly supports this, the Louisville Institute’s study confirms it.

Finding: A solid majority of both the sabbatical takers and their congregations report a significant, enduring post‐sabbatical strengthening of the pastor’s ministries of teaching and preaching.

Part III – Won’t People Just Leave if We Give Them a Sabbatical?

The study dispels one of the most common myths about sabbaticals – the idea that when a company offers sabbaticals, it opens the door wide for people to leave. This survey does not support the notion that sabbaticals lead to pastoral moves. Over the past 15 years, slightly more than half of the pastors are still in the ministry position they held at the time of their sabbatical, and another 14% stayed in place for more than four years before moving to a new place of ministry.

Does everyone stay put? No. Ten percent of congregations do report that the sabbatical was a catalyst for the pastor leaving – in some cases, this was considered a good thing. Still, mass exodus does not happen; and in our experience, this 10% number seems surprisingly high. We rarely hear of departures.

Part IV – What Does the Organization Gain?

The findings disclose a pattern that continues throughout the survey – there is a strong overall congruence between the reports of the sabbatical takers and those of congregational representatives on the sabbatical’s benefits.

• 94% of congregational representatives indicate that they perceived their pastor to have been refreshed or re‐energized after the sabbatical.
• 90% of congregational representatives believe that the sabbatical strengthened the pastor’s commitment to their congregation.

Much to our delight, a strong majority (75%) of congregations report that granting their pastor a sabbatical significantly benefited their churches.

Further, solid majorities reported that the sabbatical had a positive impact on congregational attitudes toward pastoral sabbaticals, mobilized a continuing increase in lay involvement in church leadership, and generated a discernible increase in the overall enthusiasm for ministry among congregation members.

Can sabbaticals change the shape of your business or organization with lasting benefits that count? Based on this new data, a resounding “yes” is the answer. But for an “Amen,” we still need more companies to establish sabbatical programs and build data, benchmarks, and best practices. Pleased to discover such positive results for the sabbaticals they award, the Louisville Institute challenges more organizations to adopt a sabbatical policy.

Stay tuned for what was discovered in the Institute’s report on these sabbatical issues:

Was professional jealousy alive and well as some pastors were granted sabbaticals while others were not?

Did their sermons get better post-sabbatical?

How did some churches deal with resistance to the pastoral sabbatical?