Normalize Sabbaticals, Beat Burnout

Work is a mandate by God.  So is rest, but we are getting it all wrong. 

By definition, rest means to be in a bodily state characterized by minimal functional and metabolic activities.  Rest takes on 7 dimensions according to Psychology Today.

1. Physical Rest – passive or active
2. Mental Rest
3. Sensory Rest
4. Creative Rest
5. Emotional Rest
6. Social Rest
7. Spiritual Rest

I would add an 8th point to this list called Soul Rest.  Soul rest is knowing that it is done. It is finished. Soul rest is to trust. I can’t claim this term or coin this phrase as there is a book called Soul Rest, that dives deeper into this concept that focuses on the sabbath.

Why do we forget that we are already enough?  We forget that God already won.  We forget that we don’t have to work our way to Heaven.  We forget that we can’t take our stuff with us. When we forget in our ultimate home, we never rest. 

 There is rest in the loving arms of our God.

 

The Facts

The older a phone gets, the more it takes to recharge the battery before it dies.  This illustration goes for humans.  We must recharge or we will burn out.

The pursuit of the American Dream vs. the Heavenly Dream is the reason behind our burnout culture.  This isn’t my opinion, it’s right here!

It’s rare in the United States to vacation for more than two weeks in one calendar year. Southwest Airlines nailed it with their famous slogan and ad campaign of “wanna get away“.  Americans often dream of amazing getaways, but for some reason, we are rarely able to get away from our work. 

We dream of amazing vacations that involve mountains, oceans, adventures, or just relaxing with a good book, but way too often, the work that it takes to stop working and organize the entire family is so overwhelming, that the vacation becomes either a drainer or not even possible. Way too often we are left needing a vacation from the vacation.

The statistics are pretty staggering in the post-pandemic world that the average American is only granted 11 PTO days a year.  On average, it takes working 25 years at one corporation to earn 16 additional “optional” paid days off. On top of these statistics, America is the ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD that does not mandate PTO.

The Fear

To further pile on, the average American worker doesn’t use over half of their earned PTO and over 765 million vacation days go unused per year!  Too much on our plates, too expensive to go somewhere nice, and afraid the kids will get behind in school, are all some of the reasons to not vacate our work. 

Alarmingly, the top reason that we don’t take off work is because of the fear of what others will think!  Let that sink in for a second.

If taking time more time off is a cure for burnout and preventing burnout, then why not update our organizational policies and handbooks?  Yes, more PTO is just one answer, but here are a few thought starters, maybe controversial and unconventional, of how we can minimize the burnout culture.

• Let’s equalize PTO to be the same for everyone.

• Let’s model Europe’s PTO and agree on August to represent the time to shut it all down.

• Let’s create American dark hours where text and emailing become faux pas before 9 AM and after 5 PM and on weekends. 

• Let’s create American dark days, where there are no-meeting Mondays and Fridays so we can get work done.

• Instead of mandating 4-day work weeks, we mandate annual 4-week PTO regardless of tenure or performance.

America is in the middle of a territory war of remote work vs. return to office.  It’s the wrong war.  The wrong perks are being put on the table for the American worker.  We are failing to get to the root cause of why Americans love remote work. 

The war should be for BALANCE. The war should be for restoration to the foundation of the family.  Let’s strengthen marriages and parenting.  Let’s improve the physical and mental health of our working parents.  Let’s take an interest in the unique passions of our workers and invest in those passions.  Let’s turn back to fearfully and faithfully serving God as a foundation of our work.  

When pleasing God and strengthening the family becomes the priority for a nation and every institution, watch out for what becomes possible everywhere else.

 

The Frustration

Entrepreneurs are not excluded from the burnout culture.  For those who have left the corporate world to be self-employed and have more time with family, the frustration of the constant overwhelm is still there.

New entrepreneurs are just as guilty of living in an overwhelmed state without taking time off to reset.   80% of entrepreneurs fail due to creating busyness instead of a business. The busyness of both employers and entrepreneurs creates unhealthy cultures defectors of systems, delegations, simplicity, and REST.  Our culture has a tendency of complicating our work so much, that we lose sight and the time to focus on what we do best to move the business forward…this is the 80-20 principle as a blessing and the curse. I speak from experience and as a recovering workaholic, perfectionist, and people pleaser.

Work is not a bad word.  We must do it and do it at 110%.

But I am more of a fan of working smarter.  Click here to learn more about just ONE model of how I have systemized my entrepreneurial life.

Our Westernized culture has conditioned us that both busyness and business are our symbols for success.  But chasing success can easily become an idol that takes us fully off course and leads to the compromise of our health, families, and communities.

It’s loud and clear through the Great Resignation that the American worker values the family, and is growing increasingly frustrated with the push and pull of climbing the ladder while raising a family.

The Flip

Less is more and careers are overrated!  That goes for how we work.  Working smarter can create more results.  No, this does not mean laziness or sub-par ethics, this means to get smarter on the approaches, systems, and communication practices.

The model of hustling around the clock is reasonable for a kid coming right out of college.  However, this model never course corrects for the mid-lifer with dreams, a growing family, and aging parents to care for.  As we get older, the amount of juggling increases.  That person who’s trying to climb the ladder either burns out while juggling or breaks the glass balls outside of their career.

But the juggle is real…and dangerous.

To fix the issue of burnout, we must flip the script on what comes first.  We must also flip the script of what is the most important measure of success. We must build our mandates to care for the worker before the customer.  Let’s look at what our workers care about.  Success starts by viewing and treating workers not as resources, but whole human beings.

Let’s elevate, respect, and invest in the American worker’s interests, families, and mental and physical health at the same investment as their talent. David Green, long-time CEO and founder of Hobby Lobby recently wrote a book, Leadership NOT by the Book, outlining the 12 core principles of growing a business by putting the well-being of the worker FIRST! Many say what Green does, but are the internal standards putting the employee first?  Why aren’t more corporations taking notes or applying these principles?

As CEOs, managers, leaders, and department heads…we can start by asking our colleagues, “How are things at home“?  To take it further, let’s radically update all organization guidelines to accommodate what every person is looking for…freedom, autonomy, and flexibility.  Don’t change the mission of the business, but let’s radically change the priorities of recharging the humans serving the mission.  Let’s go even further and help employees fly the next for when it’s their time.

Our motives are blurry. As a society, we are chasing success that is traditionally measured by wealth, possessions, neighborhoods, or the letters behind our names.  But what if our motives were to master a craft, to serve God fully with our talents, and to just be good at what we do?

The Fulfillment

What if we pursued good work over a good career?

A career is defined by the industry and profession that we have chosen to make money.  We get skilled, and certified, and devote lots of energy to remain competitive and promotable throughout our lives.  Advancing a career is great, but it also comes with competition followed by compromises when our values and motives are out of alignment. 

Doctors, lawyers, pilots, engineers…I personally want these professionals to have the experience, and titles and work hard to minimize mistakes.  I want the best of the best along with their letters.  But even these industries are raising their hands for mercy and are taking measures to go independent, radically shifting their models, and eradicating burnout on their terms.  One quote by Dr. Ehrenfed in this article by the American Medical Association says it all, “Burnout manifests in individuals, but it originates in systems”.

“Systems inherently have motives that consistently put profit over people.” – my quote

Not all is lost though and there are other ways to professional success without compromising our lives or certifications.   Good work can be independent of a career.  Work can happen anywhere and in any environment.  Work happens at home, with the family, and in the community. Work can be modeled in service, volunteering, self-employment, independent practices, and through large employers.  Through work, we can master a craft without looking to compete up the ladder.  Though some are called to climb the ladder, some are called to be independent.

There is more than one way to boil water without getting burned.  It takes all kinds and it’s beautiful.

When our focus and ambition for work is an act of service and helping mankind, versus an act of status, our mindset changes. We can examine our relationship with time, people, and rest.  We can then tear ourselves away from the shackles of the hustle industry of our choice. 

This gets me back to the main point, sabbaticals need to be mandatory.  You get a gold star if you’re still with me in this article…

If someone told you that they have the remedy to better health, better job performance, less employee turnover, better energy, good moods, enhanced creativity, increased productivity, better relationships, and better family life, would you invest?  That same someone goes on to explain that this same remedy is FREE and it would even extend the average worker’s ability to work beyond retirement, would you take it?  To take it even further, imagine if you are getting paid to take this life-saving remedy, would you take it?

The remedy to burnout is the sabbatical.

Sabbaticals are transformational physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually! Sabbaticals offer real rest, not superficial rest.   Sabbaticals check the box for all 8 dimensions of rest mentioned at the top of this article.  Sabbaticals are a cure to burnout hustle culture. Extended time off does much more than a weekend or an 8-hour night of rest can do for the body…it goes deeper to a place of healing the soul.  

Burnouts tend to happen everywhere in our society, but they would be far less and in between if we took a seasonal approach to work similar to our academic and agriculture systems.  For a farmer, there is a season to sow, nurture, reap, and rest.  The biblical root word of sabbatical is shmita, which means every 7 years, the land was REQUIRED to rest.  This was a test of faithfulness.  The biblical sabbatical didn’t stand by itself, it was also part of a list of other resting mandates such as weekly sabbaths, harvesting practices that would provide for the poor, annual festivals of celebration, sacrifices, and remembrances…all modeled for a life that feared and worship God.  The point to all of this? That we may work and  REST in His good provisions.

Our burnout culture looks nothing like this, it’s like we are trying to rebuild the Tower of Babel.  

We are constantly chasing after the Tree of Knowledge.  We are chasing likes, followers, and subscribers as our lives depend on it.  We are living amid the media’s fear-mongering on our devices. We aren’t resting. In this information, media, and technological era, our ability to get deep rest has been invaded and it’s time to reclaim our rest.

I don’t know if a sabbatical rest needs to be every 7 years as we are not living in the Old Testament times, but it certainly needs to be more than 11 total days a year to desensitize us from the noise and distraction of our times.  Even with holidays and vacation days, deep rest through sabbaticals or something similar needs to be offered as a standard for all industries.  What that looks like is up to every business, but the point is to normalize the word sabbatical and seek out the best solutions for each business.

The Freedom

America is a representation of freedom but we live like we are trapped.  As mentioned earlier and what research has proven, we’re trapped worrying about what others will think if we take more time off than our peers. But I believe that a culture changes with trailblazers.

Because we live in America, every institution can craft its policies, perks, and procedures in a way that serves that institution.  Companies like Hobby Lobby, Patagonia, and Alta are a few of the trailblazers for America by setting their company standards to serve the employer and their families first.  They are taking counter-culture methods to fix burnout and save families.

What if sabbaticals were a way of life and not a reward? 

This is the question being asked at Patagonia and Alta.  If every organization could see the opportunity to pave their own way by putting people over profit, I believe our society would slow down a bit.  When we slow down, we can love more.  When we love more, we can learn to trust more.  There we will find healing and rest.   This is freedom.

Here is my main point if you don’t want to read anything else in this article.  If extended PTO or sabbaticals are not mandated by our governing authorities or companies, it’s totally OK and it’s going to be OK! There is a silver lining in every crisis. 

As an American in this technological age, it’s never been easier to exercise our freedoms to create, pursue our passions, and form solutions for our world’s greatest challenges.  I personally have found my purpose and passion in this cultural mess which is to bring more awareness and advocacy for your right to live a full and abundant life! 

The Fruit

A sabbatical is like eating a potato chip!  Having one is never enough! 

If you have never experienced a sabbatical, you can start here to learn the benefits and ways to model the time off to get the ultimate rest.  Here are just a few of the benefits.

• better mental health when this world so desperately needs it.
• intentional time exploring and getting out of the normal day-to-day.
• increased productivity through the “resting of the soil”, similar to how a traditional farmer will give his/her land a year of rest.
• increased creativity which is fantastic for artists, writers, content developers, and knowledge workers.
• time to refocus and gain clarity on major life milestones and career decisions.
• personal and family planning time.
• opportunities to detach from idols like money, achievement, and success.
• opportunities to reinvestment your time into intimate time with family.
• opportunities to enjoy the novelty of adventure and aww.
• opportunities to learn about other cultures and be mission-oriented.
• a realignment of personal and professional priorities.
• a lesson on humility that the world will continue to revolve.
• spiritual restoration and a time to dedicate the rest time to God.

The First Steps

If you want to sabbatical in 2024, start planning now.  Here are the 4 categories that tend to be obstacles that you can start tackling.

Finances – Save up now by adding a small percentage to a vacation fund that you can’t touch.  If traveling is not possible due to funds, take a staycation and become a tourist in your backyard.  Maybe make a 1-hour perimeter where you can do day trips either for relaxation, education, or nourishment.

Time – Plan at least 6 to 12 months ahead.  Calculate all your PTO and paid holidays before determining how much time you will take.  Work with your family to align on the time of the year that has less friction from commitments.  If you’re self-employed as a family, schedule the sabbatical between major projects.

Work – Batch your work before leaving and close out your projects.  Communicate what you’re doing and hold to the promise that you will not be checking in, even if you do sneak a glimpse into your Outlook.  Turn off your alerts while you are gone and carve out a meeting-free day for your first day back to tackle the inbox. If you’re an employee, search out the policies and processes for requesting extended time off.  Communicate with your manager and HR well in advance so work will not fall through the cracks while you’re away.

School – Homeschooling works best to sabbatical as a family.  But if your child is in the public or private school system, communicate with the administrators and teachers in advance.  Consider the beginning of the first semester or before the winter holidays to get away.  Ask if there is an assignment that can be created (like a research essay) on the sabbatical destination. The end of the school year may be disruptive for taking a sabbatical and will leave little time to make up work.  If you are homeschooling, make a curriculum in all your subjects out of your destination.  Check out library books, and study the destination’s history, culture, culinary experiences, currency, and language.

The Family

For all the benefits of taking sabbaticals, I also advocate for families to do this together and set character-based goals.  For our family, our latest sabbatical to Africa had a goal of healing and strengthening our family relationships.  So with that in mind, we worked hard on this trip to build 4 things for all of us:

• Curiosity: The experience of seeing different walks of life and building empathy.  Sparking our curiosity to learn more about the culture, habitat, or geography.

• Courage: Going anywhere new brings apprehension and a source of fear.  Between all of us, we had to get over the fear of heights, crime, stereotypes, and wild animals.  What we found were amazing people, amazing culture, amazing animals, and opportunities to connect and bless.  Our fears were certainly over-dramatized.

• Character: Patience builds character like nothing else.  Traveling internationally in general has ways of slowing you down, but even slower with younger kids.  Character is the condition of the heart. Building the time and environment for our kids to witness that we care about them more than the chase of success is important.

• Clarity: In life, our perspective tends to turn negative, especially after a long season in one place or project.  This sabbatical allows for a 30,000 view out of the weeds to remember and reflect on what’s important, to love more tenderly, and reset in our areas of work that may need a shift.  The energy level is amazing when this type of space is given to gain this clarity.

Goals are unique for each family.  Other models of sabbaticals may include missions, service, volunteering, professional development, academic research, or a legitimate call to do nothing.

The Finish

If you don’t take a sabbatical there is still room to honor rest and honor pace.  Ask your colleagues, neighbors, or family members how they are and really mean it.  Take the time to stop, look, and listen not only to others but what God is whispering in your ear.

Neither can be overstated, we must work, but we must rest.  There must be a boundary between the two that is called LIFE.  Work, rest, and life formulate into a rhythm that is unique to all individuals and families.  Everyone has their own rhythm of these. REST AND LIFE that empowers our work.   Like everything, find your balance.  Don’t swing too far the wrong way.  Life isn’t about 100% leisure, but it is meant to be full of joy.  Find, claim, and protect yours!