Well, here is a thought. On this trip I have met the nice bilingual Swiss family in Easter Island – parents on a year’s sabbatical from work. At least 3 Germans on the boat – university professor, woman who works in logistics for Nivea and young bloke who works in purchasing for Audi. All on unpaid year off. Then I met two Australians yesterday who were on paid leave for long service. The husband had racked up a year’s worth by working in the same job for 31 years. Why don’t we have this?
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The Retirement Travels 
If you do enough years, academics can get sabbatical leave, but it’s almost always tied to your finishing a manuscript for publication during the period and/or you have to source research funding externally to pay for your substitute in classes. Routine sabbatical years only really exist now in Oxbridge and some of the Russell Group and only if there’s kudos and/or a research breakthrough guaranteed. Students, particularly in the sciences, sometimes complain that staff don’t seem focused on their teaching, which is because you get little or no credit for teaching, but your job, indeed your contract, may be almost solely focused on research outcomes. If you don’t produce the publications, in the approved journals, etc., you will be let go. One of the reasons I didn’t fight hard to get into the ‘right’ institutions was that I enjoyed teaching and in places where research wasn’t so key you got more freedom to shape your own research.
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Knowing my luck I’d get kicked out before I got to 30 years….😬😉
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I give up. Why don’t we have this? Ann xx
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Lots of jobs do allow it, if you ask, or read the policies. Action for Children do.
Any firm who want to keep their staff. Most of us can’t afford it!
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I don’t know anyone British who has had it apart from academic research, going on a course or being allowed time off because of something like family illness. Certainly not a year going round the world – and the guy from Audi is 29!
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