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I first encountered the idea of regular sabbaticals from Stefan Sagmeister[1]. The theory goes: why save all of your time-off for retirement, when you're likel

by tannerc 12y ago

I first encountered the idea of regular sabbaticals from Stefan Sagmeister[1]. The theory goes: why save all of your time-off for retirement, when you're likely to be too old to really enjoy that time? Instead, Sagmeister says, work for a few years and then take some time off—up to a year—now, while you're still fairly young and capable of doing worthwhile things with that time. The idea is still immensely appealing, but so difficult to pursue here in the United States. Mostly because we still believe that working every waking hour of every day of every month is the only way to get ahead and succeed. I'm glad Matt not only finally found the time to get away, but that his overseers at Google are letting him do it. How many of us could do the same? 1. http://www.sagmeisterwalsh.com/answers/category/sabbaticals/ http://www.sagmeisterwalsh.com/answers/category/sabbaticals/

zenbowman 12y ago
While many people struggle to get time off, I think a big part of it is that people feel guilty when they take time off, even if their employers allow it. Do you honestly believe people in the caliber of Matt Cutts, Jeff Dean or Simon Peyton Jones, etc would suffer any negative career consequences whatsoever even if they took a year or two off? Many of the larger companies in the US are actually quite generous with family leave (Google has 3 months paid vacation for dads and 6 months for moms, although it might be the outlier here, it is by far the most family-friendly workplace I've seen), but it is the overachiever mentality that prevents people from taking the time off even if their employers allow them to. Sure, you will probably not promote that year if you take 3 months off, but its a matter of priorities. I've consistently taken 6 weeks off a year since I started working 8 years ago, even though my allotted vacation time for the first few years was two weeks. I don't believe my career has suffered as a result of that.
danielhonigman 12y ago
Agreed. However, if you're working for someone else, in order to do that, you need to have shown value beyond the time you're taking off. So if you take a year, it's making sure beforehand you've made your company the difference in your salary. (Assuming they're paying you.) If they're not paying you, it's just a matter of how much money you've saved up.
tzs 12y ago
Sometimes I think we need to switch the order of work and retirement. After you finish high school, you should be given a decent lump sum, along with a good monthly income, and told to go have fun. This is when you party and travel, and take up things like surfing, biking, climbing, hang gliding, hiking, and so on...the things that work better when you have a young body that can do stupid fun dangerous things and maybe survive. You get to do this until, say, 40, and then it is time to go to work, or to go to college and then go to work. Basically, "Logan's Run" except Carrousel gives you a job instead of death.

by tannerc 12y ago

zenbowman 12y ago

While many people struggle to get time off, I think a big part of it is that people feel guilty when they take time off, even if their employers allow it. Do you honestly believe people in the caliber of Matt Cutts, Jeff Dean or Simon Peyton Jones, etc would suffer any negative career consequences whatsoever even if they took a year or two off? Many of the larger companies in the US are actually quite generous with family leave (Google has 3 months paid vacation for dads and 6 months for moms, although it might be the outlier here, it is by far the most family-friendly workplace I've seen), but it is the overachiever mentality that prevents people from taking the time off even if their employers allow them to. Sure, you will probably not promote that year if you take 3 months off, but its a matter of priorities. I've consistently taken 6 weeks off a year since I started working 8 years ago, even though my allotted vacation time for the first few years was two weeks. I don't believe my career has suffered as a result of that.

danielhonigman 12y ago

Agreed. However, if you're working for someone else, in order to do that, you need to have shown value beyond the time you're taking off. So if you take a year, it's making sure beforehand you've made your company the difference in your salary. (Assuming they're paying you.) If they're not paying you, it's just a matter of how much money you've saved up.

tzs 12y ago

Sometimes I think we need to switch the order of work and retirement. After you finish high school, you should be given a decent lump sum, along with a good monthly income, and told to go have fun. This is when you party and travel, and take up things like surfing, biking, climbing, hang gliding, hiking, and so on...the things that work better when you have a young body that can do stupid fun dangerous things and maybe survive. You get to do this until, say, 40, and then it is time to go to work, or to go to college and then go to work. Basically, "Logan's Run" except Carrousel gives you a job instead of death.