This past weekend, my mother moved her 95-year-old father from Ohio to Pensacola, Florida, and into an assisted living facility a couple of miles up the road from her house. She had two siblings helping her, but this was still a time-consuming, logistical ordeal. Have you ever prepared an almost-centurion to get through TSA? Have you ever shipped an electric wheelchair?
My mother, Grandpa, and me.
Before he left Dayton, Grandpa asked to visit the home where he lived for 50 years. One last time. The house has been empty since he moved into assisted living almost two years ago. It needs to be sold: another to-do for Boomer children of elderly parents.
There are things in life that require time away from work. Sabbaticals aren’t always used for travel, research, or accomplishing personal and professional goals. Sometimes successful executives need a block of time to attend to an aging parent, be a stay-at-home parent to a teenager who needs attention, or help out a struggling family business.
Accenture’s 30,000 U.S. employees can apply for an unpaid, personal sabbatical up to three months long. Sharon Klun, Director of Work/Life Initiatives for the consulting company, oversees the program and says that prior to offering sabbaticals, 50% of employees said they’d recently declined a role or considered leaving because of work/life issues. With the program in place, Accenture employees surveyed indicated:
- The ability to successfully manage work/life impacts commitment to stay (86%);
- Sabbaticals (career flexibility) is one of the top-5 most favored resources (61%).
If you’re not working for one of these companies, how are you dealing with pressing issues that require more time than a couple of vacation days?
2 Responses (add yours)
I can earn up to 3 additonal paid days off by “volunteering for vacation” at my company, but when a significant chunk of time is needed, my company is required by law to offer the benefits of FMLA (http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/benefits-leave/fmla.htm) because it employs more than 50 people. Do you know, or have you heard of any otions for people that work for smaller businesses?
You’re absolutely right, John – FMLA does cover many of the family- and medical-related reasons for why a person might need more time … although I bet between us we can come up with a lot of situations requiring blocks of time that would not be covered by FMLA. As for the small businesses, we find that many will try their best to accommodate the needs of high-performing workers, particularly those who have been with the company for a long time. I just received a call the other day from a small (4 employees) advertising agency in Atlanta that will be allowing one of its workers to volunteer in Thailand for three months. Even in a tough economy, good employees are hard to find! So it’s in a business’ best interest to work it out. Thanks.