The number of workers who voluntarily quit a job surpassed the number who were laid off or discharged in February 2009, according to the the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Before February, the BLS had recorded more layoffs than resignations for 15 straight months. That’s not a surprising turn of events.
In fact, it may be a continuing trend in the coming months if recent sentiments indicated in the 2009 poll by human resources consulting giant Right Management come true. “Sixty percent of workers said they intended to leave their jobs when the market gets better.”
Obviously, “when the market gets better” is an ill-defined issue. But we can safely agree that the recession and its looming uncertainty have kept some people in jobs for longer than they would have liked.
But what if you love your job? Or used to love it? Even if you love, love, love your current job and it’s a good one for your career, work takes its toll when you’re asked to give “all and then some” for your company. (This is for sure your reality if you still have a job.)
In our experience with coaching successful executives, we find there is a break point after a long haul of energy output. The refrains we hear are, “I’m worn out. This is getting to be too much. I need another job.” Or “I’m not excited about doing this anymore. Time to look for another job.”
Ding-dong. Wrong answesr.
Many people don’t need to quit a perfectly good job. They just need to get away from work for a short time. They need a break from that used-to-love-it job. “Impossible,” you say. “My company would never go for it.”
If your company is smart they might. Companies facing large-scale churn find it costly to lose talent. The average cost of replacing you is anywhere from about half to three times your position’s annual salary. Losing talent is costly in dollars and disruption.
Before you quit, ask yourself these questions:
- Am I the best person for this job?
- Do I want to stay?
- Does my career path benefit from continuing in this job?
- Will my company be hurt if I leave?
Affirmative answers to these four questions means you should consider negotiating a sabbatical rather than quit. We’re talking to more and more people who have successfully negotiated sabbaticals in this economy; many helped us perfect upcoming products.
Check out what R. Eid, television producer, said about ”The Ultimate Toolkit to Writing and Pitching a Killer Sabbatical Proposal Your Boss Can’t Refuse.” Eid’s love for her work as well as the career opportunities the job provides prompted her to “try” the idea of a sabbatical out on her boss. No one she knew of in her company had been on a sabbatical.
Eid’s pitch was successful. She returns to her job later next month.
3 Responses (add yours)
Typically, how long should an employee work before proposing a sabbatical to their company?
That’s a very good question, John. And instead of “it depends,” I’ll be more straightforward with an answer.
While Patagonia offers employees a sabbatical after one year, most companies have sabbatical programs that begin at the five-year mark.
If your company is forward thinking about keeping their talent, a good estimate to assess your track record would be around the 2-3 year mark. (A killer Sabbatical Proposal would be a must.)
Hope that helps clarify things.
Very good article and in my experience very true. I took a sabbatical a number
of years ago, went to South Africa for 3 months and whilst away I was offered a
job, so came home sold my house and took voluntary redundancy! If i had quit my
job before i went away, I would have missed out on a lot of money! A few years
later and I now own my own company called Yomps sending people away on Gap Years
and Career Breaks!
At the moment many companies would jump at employees taking unpaid leave and
save a fortune during tough times!