Archives for June, 2010
Rethinking Retirement
Post-recession demographics are not only showing that baby boomers plan on working longer to recoup from the financial collapse. What’s also now clear is the way they intend to work in the future - and that has major consequences for talent managers, who must rethink their policies to support the new workplace realty that is […]
Making your Sabbatical Memorable: Start Now
Sabbaticals should be designed as memorable journeys. Start now by carving out 15 minutes of silence. You might have a 3-, 4-, or 10-week break from your career that’s either being offered up by your employer or one that you’re doing on your own. Picture that time filled with nothing as of yet. Now, think of […]
Here’s What You’re Doing With an Extra Hour a Day
An article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal told of the latest “American Time Use Survey” released by the Labor Department on Tuesday. It seems we now have extra time to spend each day due to rising unemployment. Okay, that I understand - a person without a job might have more spare time than those who […]
Help for Companies Implementing Sabbatical for Employees
If you’re a small- or medium-sized company that wants to roll out a sabbatical program for your employees and be on our “Workplaces for Sabbaticals” list, we finally have the perfect solution for you. We get a lot of inquiries from companies that are passionate about joining the ranks of innovative, “best” employers and are […]
Make Your Sabbatical Ode Worthy (You do Know What an Ode is, Don’t You?)
Maybe you never thought of writing an ode to your sabbatical experience. This kind of lyric poem often praises people, the arts, natural scenes, or abstract concepts (or most any common thing, as you will discover). Having just read 25 odes – one a night for the last month – I propose that instead of telling […]
Does the Internet Make You Smarter or Dumber?
This was the title of an article in last Saturday’s Wall Street Journal. Two experts answered the question. Clay Shirky says “Smarter”. Nicholas Carr argues “Dumber”. I was struck by some of Carr’s thinking, especially this: “…a growing body of evidence suggests that the Net, with its constant distractions and interruptions, is also turning us […]
Eat, Pray, Love and Julia: Her Teeth and Her Perpetual Happiness
Julia Roberts grew up in Smyrna, Georgia. Since I was part of the school system that raised her (I was a middle school counselor for 10 years), I can say that she never knew a moneyed lifestyle. There was no affluent side of Smyrna at that time (and I don’t think there is now.) Watching […]
Sabbatical Summit: Reality or Fantasy?
When yourSABBATICAL offered me a guest blog spot, I happily took the leap. This is one of my favorite sites and subjects—and my soul grins knowing that other wandering, kindred spirits are out there. Are you one too? If so, then please plan ahead to join us at the First Annual Sabbatical Summit, a overdue […]
The Young, Unfit and Delusional Might Not Live Long Enough for Their Career Break
Toward the end of dinner last evening, the three couples I was among discovered our ages spanned 36 years – from a 38-year-old to a 74-year-old. While our conversation had included what everyone did for a living and what one might do should their employer ever offer them a sabbatical (a dog sled adventure, ballroom […]
Boomer Executives Dealing With Elderly Parents Need Sabbaticals
This past weekend, my mother moved her 95-year-old father from Ohio to Pensacola, Florida, and into an assisted living facility a couple of miles up the road from her house. She had two siblings helping her, but this was still a time-consuming, logistical ordeal. Have you ever prepared an almost-centurion to get through TSA? Have […]
“Too Late” is Reality in Life: Oil at My Back Door
Two herons breakfast each morning in Santa Rosa Sound 75 feet away from the terrace where I gulp coffee on these gorgeous summer days. We’ve named them George and Stretch. They languish near the shore and don’t appear worried about their future. So, I’ll worry about it for them. Oil is now 50 miles offshore from us here in Pensacola. […]
Multi-Tasking Makes Me Stupid
My mother will be mad when she reads this: I text while I drive. I anticipate the wreck that will teach me the lesson I need to learn. And shouldn’t the anticipation be enough? In other areas of my life, I seem to have wisened up about multi-tasking. I’m not good at it. You’re not […]
Vacations Don’t Make People Happy But Sabbaticals Do
Honestly, I don’t know why I’m writing about this latest research on vacations, since most of you don’t take them anyway. But, this may explain why we choose to leave vacation days in the bank. Turns out we don’t get no satisfaction from our vacations. Sabbaticals on the other hand, according to the research, offer […]
General Mills’ “Innovation Sabbatical”
Rolled out in 2007 along with a personal sabbatical program, General Mills’ “Innovation Sabbatical” is only offered to members of the company’s “Innovation, Technology and Quality” organization, which is comprised of employees in roles related to research and development, nutrition, quality and engineering. After 7 years of service, these employees may apply for an Innovation […]