I don’t want to go too far with “rating” what people choose to do on their sabbaticals….after all, the outcome is critical, too. Someone could spend the entire break at home and experience a bigger life impact than someone who climbs Everest or studies gorillas in Uganda.
That said, I’m holding up a card right now that has a big, red “9.5″ on it for Greg Wilson’s plans for his May 2009 sabbatical from Adobe. A pilot and aerial photographer, Greg will do a cross-country solo flight and visit some National Scenic Parks, taking photos along the way. His plan is to fly from his home in Tampa to Rocky Mountain National park and then on to Glacier National Park, before heading back.
San Jose, CA-based Adobe offers a three-week sabbatical to all employees after every five years of service. Paid time off can either be added to the sabbatical or cashed out for money to help fund the dream sabbatical.
Greg says the sabbatical is part of Adobe’s innovative culture and that managers are not only supportive of the program but “push people to take them.”
“On my first sabbatical, my manager told me not to take calls or emails and to divorce myself from work during my break,” Greg says.
We’ll keep in touch with Greg and see how his sabbatical turns out.
Who’s in your Top Ten Sabbaticals list?
2 Responses (add yours)
I appreciate the concreteness of this posting. Great ideas that I could actually envision applying to my own future sabbatical.
Casey Hawley, Author
Managing the Older Employee:Bridging the Generation Gap to Get the Most Out of Your Workplace
Thanks so much, Casey. I value your comment, especially since I see that you’re the published author of SEVEN books. Wow. If anyone wants to see her list of books, go to http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Casey%20Hawley&page=1.