By Ayanna Kirton, Staff ReporterFOR THE average Jamaican, work is a fact of life. Most Jamaicans have been taught that with hard work and a lot of determination the achievement of material wealth to ensure status, fulfilment and even happiness is possible. So, many toil tirelessly working their minds and bodies to a state of exhaustion, giving little or no thought to relaxation in their quest to one day reap the benefits.
But what about the benefits of taking a break from the rat race? According to human resource experts, a break may be just the thing to spark your spirits and refresh your creativity while providing you with the rest and relaxation needed to perform at an optimal level. Lloyd Eubank-Green, management consultant and 'dream coach' endorses the idea. "There is much to be gained from taking time off from work," he says. "Both you and your employer can benefit because you will come back to your position with a fresh mind and that will add value to the work you do."
Typically a North American phenomenon, in recent years an increasing number of people in the United States have begun taking mid-career sabbaticals as a way to do the things they have always wanted to do. These things vary. Some use the time away from the grind as an opportunity to travel, go back to school, spend time with their families, volunteer or pursue a particular hobby full-time.
Ginger Applegarth, author of Quit Work For A Year: 7 Steps To Do It Right, says taking time off from work may be the only way a person can pursue those dreams or undo the damage that job-related stress might have caused them or their family.
According to Dr. Leachim Semaj, clinical psychologist and motivational speaker, the concept of voluntary time off from work is under utilised in the Jamaican context.
"This would be considered almost strange to most Jamaicans because in our experience when a person takes time off it is usually to work abroad," he says. "There are senior managers who haven't taken vacations in 20 years [and] even regular annual vacations (which all employees are entitled to) are under-utilised."
Dr. Semaj says the lack of appreciation for free time stems largely from fear. "Jamaicans are terrified of losing their space (in the workplace)," he says. "We have a mean-spirited culture which makes people frown on others who feel that taking time off can be beneficial."
Only when it is forced upon Jamaicans, for example in situations where their employers make them redundant, do they realise that they are indeed tired and drained from years of hard work, Dr. Semaj observes. "It is the only way many people are able to look at their lives and go through the process of self-discovery" which often times leads them on the right track to pursue their calling, he says.
Quitting your job for at least six months sounds tempting in theory but how do you balance your desire for time off and your desire to keep your financial goals on track?
Applegarth gives the following suggestions:
1. A leave of absence is (usually) better than quitting outright.
Unless your financial situation is very secure, and you don't need the group health insurance available through work, try for a leave of absence. Understand that your employer can't keep your specific job open forever; the longer your sabbatical is, the less likely it is that you will be able to come back to your current position. Your employer may think a six-week sabbatical is terrific and will help you recharge your batteries to become a better employee; a six-month sabbatical (especially in a small company or a fast-paced one where products are brought to market very quickly) may be impossible to negotiate. It is also easier when the company you work for has a "succession planning system", suggests Eubank-Green. This ensures that other members of staff can do your duties while you are away instead of leaving your colleagues out on a limb while you take time off, particularly if your job is a highly specialised or technical one.
2. Accept that it's going to cost you.
Unless your employer offers you paid sabbatical time, you're going to have to take unpaid leave (or resign outright). Many people who have taken sabbaticals rationalise the blow to the bank account with "I will be a better worker and much happier and focused, so I'll end up making much more money." That's great if it happens, but don't count on it. If anything, after a sabbatical you might decide you don't want to work as hard, or that you want to change your career to something less lucrative and more altruistic.
3. Figure out how much it's going to cost you.
We know this takes some of the spontaneity and fun out of the planning, but you need to know the bottom line in order to know how much time you can afford to take off. If you don't do it now, keep a detailed record of your monthly expenses for six months, subtracting out work-related costs (such as dry cleaning, lunches out, petrol costs) and adding in the extra costs of your sabbatical plans (such as travel, home renovation, and so on). Don't forget to also add in expenses that your employer pays now but that you will have to pay if you take a leave of absence or quit (such as medical expenses). Multiply your monthly basic expenses times the number of months you plan to be off work, and add in the extra costs of your sabbatical activities. Unless you will have a guaranteed job waiting for you upon your return, add at least three extra months for job hunting.
4. Set goals for your sabbatical.
This doesn't mean planning every day of your time off, but it does mean thinking through exactly what you want to achieve, both practically and personally.
5. Figure out how much time is enough to meet those goals.
Again, you don't want to sacrifice all the spontaneity in your time off, but unless your employer subsidises you, every month you take off is going to cost you. You can plan for an open-ended sabbatical if you have a nice financial cushion and you're willing to use it, but there is a law of diminishing returns at work. For example, after six months off, the seventh month of free time is going to be less beneficial to you. At some point, the money you lose by continuing to stay out of the workforce becomes more important to you than the extra free time.
6. Find the money.
Now that you know how much money you will need, you have to come up with it. Make a list of all of your assets, including any non-financial assets you might be willing to sell. Here is a quick snapshot of the various sources of income and some quick strategies to remember with each:
* If you take money out of investments, subtract the capital-gains tax you will have to pay. Remember that long-term capital gains (investments held more than 12 months) are taxed at a lower rate than short-term capital gains.
* If you take money out of savings, be sure you leave an emergency fund of about three months' worth of expenses in a chequing or savings account; many people who have taken sabbaticals have reported that they vastly underestimated their expenses, even when they tried to plan.
* If your parents are making annual gifts to you already or you know they would support your desire to take time off, you can ask for a parental loan. Of course, you can ask for an advance on your inheritance (if you are fortunate enough to have one coming!). But it's probably better if you ask for a loan and let them offer the inheritance later.
* If you plan to take substantial time off and you don't need a car, you might sell your car and use those funds. But before you do that, make sure you know where you will get the money to buy a replacement car when it's time to re-enter the workforce. If you have taken a lot of time off, it may be hard to get a car loan before you have held onto a new job for a period of time.
7. Make exit and entrance plans.
"To be fair to your current employer, you need to give at least three months notice if you're hoping to make it a leave of absence. This way, your temporary replacement can be trained and you make it clear that you care about your job and your employer," says Applegarth. " Even if you decide later not to come back to your current job, your supervisor will be more likely to provide a good recommendation."
For *Leroy Brown, the decision to take time of from work was a decision well-made. According to him, his sabbatical was the best six months of his life giving him the opportunity to travel which acted as a catalyst in his decision to start his own business.
"Many people cringe at the thought of being out of a job for six months but with proper financial planning it's possible," he says. "You have to be willing to put money aside several months or years in advance but at the end of the day leaving the rat race behind even if it's only for a while is worth it."
*Not his real name
