THE PANDEMIC GAVE MANY OF US A CHANCE TO RE-EVALUATE OUR LIVES. ELLE REDMAN LOOKS AT THE BENEFITS OF TAKING A BREAK AND WHETHER IT’S TIME TO TAKE A SABBATICAL
THE AUTHOR Elle Redman is a journalist and poet from South Wales. She’s passionate about telling stories that focus on the themes of wellness, social change, lifestyle, and faith.
Picture this. It’s a late Monday morning in spring and you’re sat, barefoot, in a wide-open field. With your hands placed to heart centre, you take a deep breath and close your eyes. A wave of contentment, warm as the sun, washes over you. The clouds are moving slowly, as you do too.
Touching the dewy grass with your fingertips, you reach for your favourite reusable cup for a sip of hot coffee – the source that faithfully served and fuelled you during those frightfully early commutes to work.
After a few months away from your nine to five, you’re relishing in the simple joy of your sabbatical. And this morning, as you sit in the quietness of the field, you’re drinking the same blend of coffee, from the very same cup. But everything feels different. You feel different.
Gaining clarity
“Sabbaticals can have an enormous effect on the body, as our minds have room to detox and rejuvenate,” explains burnout and career coach, Bhavya Arora.
“By taking a break from your regular routine, pausing, breathing and just being still, you create more space to evaluate your life and career path. You might even tap into talents you didn’t know you had,” she suggests.
Since the pandemic, more people are considering the possibility of taking a sabbatical, and this comes as we grow in awareness of the long-term benefits of self-care.
According to a report by The Times, pre-pandemic, wellness sabbaticals were set to become a widespread phenomenon, with many people taking breaks from their careers to recharge their batteries and embrace a lifestyle in favour of a healthy work-life balance.
Since remote working has re-shaped both the present and future of how many of us work, along with rolled-over annual leave and quarantine hassles, extended breaks are predicted to continue growing in popularity post-Covid.
A different kind of work
Though seemingly a new and emerging trend, sabbaticals have been around for some time. The rich history of the word traces back to Biblical times and originally comes from the Latin sabbaticus, meaning ‘sabbath’. Sabbaticals traditionally occurred every seven years and provided people with a year of rest while they let their fields replenish.
Today, sabbaticals can take a myriad of forms but are generally char
