A career break is a period of time out from

employment Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...

. It is commonly used for people to take time out of their

career A career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work (human activity), work and other aspects of personal life, life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ...

for personal or

professional development Professional development, also known as professional education, is learning that leads to or emphasizes education in a specific professional career field or builds practical job applicable skills emphasizing Praxis (process), praxis in addition t ...

History

A career break is usually between one month and two years long. Six months to two years is the most common period of time for a career break.The Career Break Site survey, 2005 It is also possible to take a mini career break of less than one month, which enables people to try out career break activities without committing to longer periods of time. Shorter career breaks are most popular with people over 45 years of age. It can take the form of a

sabbatical A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work; "an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job." The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Bi ...

, which can be paid or unpaid; unpaid sabbaticals are much more common. Sabbaticals were originally only offered to academics and clerics but are now being increasingly offered by companies. A career break is not simply a period of

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

. Career breakers usually do one or more of the following: * Rest from burnout *

Travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical Location (geography), locations. Travel can be done by Pedestrian, foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without Baggage, luggage, a ...

* Voluntary work * Paid work abroad * Studying or training *

Career development Career development refers to the process an individual may undergo to evolve their occupational status. It is the process of making decisions for long term learning, to align personal needs of physical or psychological fulfillment with career a ...

and business start up * Offering

palliative care Palliative care (from Latin root "to cloak") is an interdisciplinary medical care-giving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating or reducing suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Man ...

* Raising children * Staying up-to-date with (profession related) news * Recovering from accidents or illnesses

Usage

The career break has grown in popularity over the last several years, with 75% of the British workforce currently considering a career break. Every year, around 90,000 professionals are estimated to take a career break.Mintel report It is most common in the UK, where it grew out of the gap year concept. The career break is sometimes referred to as an 'adult gap year', which reflects the commitment towards developing skills and gaining experience while out of the workforce. In the USA a career break is generally referred to as a 'sabbatical'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Career Break Career development it:Anno sabbatico (lavoro)

History

Usage

See also

References