Sabbatical/voluntary unemployment - what to consider?

December 4, 2020 8:46 AM

After 20+ years of continuous employment in a white collar job, I'm likely to be laid off early next year. I have substantial savings, and am considering taking a year or so off before beginning a job search. What should I consider in deciding whether to take such a "sabbatical?"

My savings are such that I could comfortably live for 3+ years unemployed (probably at least 5 with frugal living), but not enough to retire completely on. I am single with no children and live in the United States.

It's natural to ask what I'd do during this time. I don't entirely know yet, as I've just started thinking about this, but possibilities include getting my personal life in order (all those things that seem to keep getting pushed back), getting in better shape, learning a language, travel (assuming that opens back up).

What should I be thinking about in making this decision - financial, emotional, personal, post-sabbatical employment search, or anything else? And if you've done something like this, how did it work out for you?

Throwaway email: [e-mail].

posted by anonymous to Work & Money (10 answers total)

Have a clear plan to re-enter the job market, assuming that's something you'll want. If not, fine! But if you do still need to work, have a solid plan to do so.

...a friend of mine took a sabbatical from a well-paid consulting job, utterly failed to consider what they'd do afterwards, slacked off for longer than intended and is now literally down to their last $10K as we speak.

I, conversely, had a shit job but took a corporate buyout package a few years back, spent a year circling the globe, came back, did some additional education, entered a new career, and have massively increased my income as a result.

The difference? Having a plan.
posted by aramaic at 8:57 AM on December 4, 2020 [8 favorites]

Talk to a financial advisor to discuss the impact on your retirement plans. Also, since you are in the US, health insurance, and disability insurance.

Go on interviews now, not to accept any, but to see how the hiring process has changed in 20 years (assuming you have been with the same organisation for those 20 years). It will also give you an idea of what your value on the market is and if you can get job offers while employed (which tends to give you a leg up in unemployed applicants). I took a year off in my forties because of a life-threatening illness that required complete bed rest for 8 months and I noticed it was much more difficult to even get interviews. You may also be starting to bump up against ageism in your forties, depending on your industry. Is there any type of part time consulting gig/self-employment you can do to keep your hand in?

Know yourself; everyone plans to be productive in their time off, a lot more slack through and procrastinate. You want to focus on your personal life, but, if that includes romance, for many people unemployment is not high on the list of desirable traits in a partner. Will your friends be available to socialize?

Sorry to be a negative nelly but I have several intelligent, talented friends who were unemployed in their forties and have never recovered. I however, have moved on from my unemployment to a better-paying job with a better work-life balance.
posted by saucysault at 9:13 AM on December 4, 2020 [8 favorites]

I did this, took a personal sabbatical, and I was coming here to write exactly what aramaic did: I wish I'd done a better job having a plan for how long my sabbatical would last, and how I was going to go about finding a job after.

In my case it wasn't so much not having a plan as it was not sticking to it. I'd planned on taking about a year off, and then being careful about taking a next job. But after I completed the 3-month hike that was the cornerstone of my sabbatical, I started to get nervous about being unemployed (for now good reason), and rushed into a job far short of that year. It turned out to be a bad match -- something I could have found out if I'd done more due diligence -- and I ended up having to leave pretty quickly.

It ended up fine -- I'm at a good job now, and the gap in employment hasn't been an issue -- but it was all needlessly stressful. If I'd stuck to the plan, or even just the part about being careful about my new gig, I could have avoided those months of stress.
posted by jacobian at 9:17 AM on December 4, 2020

Maybe not exactly what you are asking for, but be aware that many people consider being on a sabbatical the same as being unemployed and will interpret choosing to be unemployed as lazy. People are also less likely to respect your time since comparatively you will appear to have so much more "freedom". It was unfortunate, but I found myself feeling pretty defensive during my own short break because of those two factors.
posted by sm1tten at 9:34 AM on December 4, 2020 [1 favorite]

Consider how you will spin it on a resume down the line when you re-enter the workforce. Start thinking about what you will really want to do during that time, and how that may apply to a future career path. No one should have to justify what they do with their own time, but the reality is that most employers are not thrilled about seeing "I just took a year off because I wanted to" or "I was simply unemployed" on a resume. Saying it was for humanitarian or charity work, book research, learn new job skills (languages) via travel, etc. - anything other than sitting at home - will get you more mileage when it comes to scoring interviews. We shouldn't have to do this kind of life rationalization for employers, but ultimately you have to play the game - don't cripple your future employment opportunities by ignoring this.

With that said, this may also depend heavily upon your industry - some fields look more kindly on the concept of sabbatical than others.
posted by _DB_ at 9:43 AM on December 4, 2020 [6 favorites]

I ended up unemployed for a year in my late 40s without much of a financial cushion or a plan, but I was able to spin it into a "sabbatical" on my resume thanks to some profession-adjacent volunteer work and a couple of small, paid freelance gigs. But please don't underestimate ageism and the enduring stigma of employment gaps in your industry as you consider your plan.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 9:51 AM on December 4, 2020 [3 favorites]

One thing I would consider, if you're not already, is the way projects like "get in shape" sound like something you'll do with free time but often end up getting put off even when there's nothing in the way. Don't get me wrong; I'm very much in favor of doing this if you can and if it doesn't mess up anything else for you. I'm just thinking of two times I've been unemployed for a few months in the last ten years. I did not write a novel, let's just say. But time not spent working is a sacrament in this world, even if you just take some walks and catch up on sleep and fail to be a piece of coal shoveled into the furnace of capitalism for a while.
posted by less of course at 10:13 AM on December 4, 2020 [2 favorites]

So I'm guessing you are in your mid- or late-40s at least. My concern here is that you might use up a lot of your savings and then not be able to find a job. It's hard to guess how the next few years will go in our economy, and ageism is going to start to creep in to any job hunt experiences you pursue, especially after you've stopped working for a bit. So definitely talk to a financial planner about all this. I would also think about making this a much shorter sabbatical.

Also, even though a vaccine is on the way, 2021 isn't going to be a magic return to normal, especially around travel (I know you didn't say it would be). This might be a better time to be working, because you can't be out and about in the world as much.

I am a big believer in sabbaticals, but I am really lucky in that I was able to take one, partially paid, in the middle of my job, and then return to it. I can tell you that a year feels like a long time at the start, and I didn't get nearly as much done as I hoped.

My advice: set up something regular and structured, even if it's two mornings a week. Volunteer or get a part-time job, even if doesn't pay well (for example, if you are into birds, volunteer at your local arboretum or see if you can get a job a few days a week at the garden and bird supply store, that sort of thing). Having some structure will help you use all of your time better, I think, and help you track progress through time. It'll also keep you more active and engaged and might open up some new possibilities for what you want to do when you return to full-time employment. I bet it'll also help you get on a better fitness schedule because you'll have some movement and activity built into your life.

But really I don't think it's a good plan to take 3-5 years off in your 40s. That savings could be a cushion you'd need at some point if you have an injury and can't work, or if you do want to retire a bit early. They could also be a cushion so you can work 30 hours a week for the longer term, or take some time off when you can travel more easily. But we could be looking at a sustained economic contraction where well-paid, white collar jobs might be increasingly hard to find. That cushion could do a lot for you.

I'd suggest thinking about taking a month or two. For two weeks or three weeks, you get a total vacation except for personal health; you need to make sure you are eating healthy and adding more movement into your day. Then, after a few weeks, you can do a few projects and set up a volunteer gig or get a part-time job. Do that for a bit and see what progress you are making, and be honest with yourself. If you haven't started on something, it's not because you don't have time but because you don't want to do it, right?

My guess is that you won't find a lot in five years that you can find in three, and you won't find a lot in three years that you can do in one or two. And I think in all of these cases it'll be hard to get yourself to go back to work. Good luck!
posted by bluedaisy at 10:19 AM on December 4, 2020 [6 favorites]

Most people I know who've taken successful sabbaticals outside of fields in which sabbaticals are normal, have come back to do something fundamentally different from their pre-sabbatical job. Tht might be the same field but as a consultant rather than employee, or working in an adjacent field, or retraining entirely. I think having a plan for what you will do in the X months of your sabbatical, and a plan for what you will do in the Y months transitioning back to paid work is helpful. If you plan to travel or interact with people, then the 2nd half of 2021 is looking more hopeful than the first. Otherwise, I think cultivating your social safety net as well as looking after your financial safety net is important. Build your network professionally and professional-adjacent now so that you have people to connect with during your transition back to work.
posted by plonkee at 12:19 PM on December 4, 2020

Sorry if this is something you have already considered but in addition to a financial planner a career counselor might also provide some helpful planning feedback along the lines of what to expect for people around your age and/or in your field in your part of the country.

A career counselor might also be able to give you some helpful advice about the best way to ramp up your search or how to best frame your sabbatical once you’re ready to return.
posted by forkisbetter at 2:44 PM on December 4, 2020