Sabbatical Programs Aid Work- Life Balance. In addition to family and medical leave programs, some employers offer their employees extended leaves of absence to pursue personal endeavors or just rejuvenate. The purpose of such leaves or sabbaticals is simple: Give valued employees the time off they want and avoid the costs associated with turnover by keeping them tethered to the company. Given today’s turbulent economic times, such leave programs offer employers an alternative to layoffs, experts say. Sabbaticals are a response in part to today’s 2. Kathie Lingle, director of the Scottsdale, Arizona- based Alliance for Work- Life Progress, a global human resources association. According to Hewitt Associates’ latest figures, only 4 percent of employers offer unpaid sabbaticals. Additionally, “when you have an employee out for a long period of time, there’s always a concern that the employee might not return,” she says. However, Sladek says that “we have seen a significant increase in the number of employers looking at these kinds of programs as a way to attract, engage and retain talent” in the past five to 1. Although the firm offers a variety of work/life programs, an employee survey revealed that the most requested work/life program the company lacked was a sabbatical, says Sharon Klun, Accenture’s Phoenix- based director of work/life initiatives. Although the program is unpaid, employees can set money aside each paycheck or each month, “so when the leave does come, they are not necessarily as strapped” for money, Klun says.“The beauty of it is it’s not so static or confined,” she says, noting that each quarter the company has between 1. The idea is that an employee can figure out what they need or want to do in life—whether it’s taking care of an elderly parent or climbing the Himalayas—and plan for it by putting money away, she says. For Accenture, the return on investment is “huge because you’re keeping people you would normally lose,” Klun says. Sabbaticals are embedded into the culture of Intel Corp., says Dana Vandecoevering, work/life program manager in Hillsboro, Oregon. For more than 2. 0 years, the Santa Clara, California- based technology giant has been offering two- month fully paid sabbaticals to all full- time employees after every seven years of service, she says “The goal is to return to Intel revitalized, with new ideas and a fresh perspective,” says Vandecoevering, who has taken two sabbaticals herself. At the same time, sabbaticals open opportunities for other employees to cross- train and assume greater responsibilities, she says. Since 2. 00. 6, eligible employees at Deloitte can take up to five years of unpaid leave under its Personal Pursuits program. Take the first step today by joining our talent community. Search Careers; Our Culture; About Us. Sabbatical program* Bereavement leave.
While employees are technically severed from the company and receive no health benefits while on the program, they are given a host of resources to keep them connected to the company, including mentors, short- term work assignments and subsidized training to keep their skills and professional licenses up to date, says Rebecca Amoroso, vice chair and U. S. On average, the cost of replacing an employee is twice the employee’s salary, which “is significantly higher than the $2,5. Personal Pursuits program costs Deloitte, Amoroso says. Currently, about 7. Cure for Office Burnout: Mini Sabbaticals. Ore.-based virtual-receptionist company Ruby Receptionists started a sabbatical program in 2012.
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