Career Breaks Are Good For Business
By Catherine Medhurst, First published on June 11, 2019
A career break doesn’t mean a career break-up.
The courage to step off the career treadmill can be an incredibly valuable and rewarding experience. The opportunity to re-energise, relax and focus on something different may even lead to better performance in the longer term. The proactive approach of taking time out can also avoid the pitfalls of burnout, lost productivity and depression.
For most people, the path to success is not linear and involves many challenges and setbacks along the way. Taking time out to be open to new experiences may better equip you to handle these challenges and propel you towards greater results in the future.
Sounds great in theory, and like an initiative that all leaders should encourage. As a leader would you encourage a career break?
- What if the person asking for the career break was one of your most talented and high potential team members?
- What if they told you they no longer loved their role and needed some time out?
- Would you support them?
- Would you stay connected with them during their career break?
- Post career-break, how would you welcome them back and support their return to work?
- Would you seek to understand and utilise the skills acquired during the career break?
Is offering a career break in your leadership vocabulary?
Last Saturday, Tennis Australia reaped the benefits of supporting a young and talented individual when she identified she needed a career break from the game (job) she loves. After a successful junior career, including winning the Wimbledon Junior Singles title, Barty stepped away from tennis. Following her career break, Ashleigh Barty returned to the WTA 3 years ago with a ranking of 623.
Today Ashleigh Barty is the 2019 French Open Champion and holds the WTA World Ranking of No. 2!
When Ashleigh Barty returned to the tennis tour, her and her team had a plan to achieve a successful and sustainable return to professional tennis. The plan wasn’t for headlines and immediate domination. She quietly practised, listened, learned, won, loss and matured as a player and as a person.
Success is about progress, not perfection.
Barty’s career to date shows that incremental improvements, rather than big-bang, one-off changes are essential to victory.
Barty and her team didn’t seek to ignore the lessons she acquired during her career break. They leveraged her experiences during this time to enhance her skills upon her return to tennis. In fact, Barty herself credits her stint playing cricket as being the secret behind her recent French Open victory.
We’ve all experienced that aha moment when we step away from a task and suddenly the answer becomes clear. In addition to providing clarity on your purpose, a career break is a great opportunity to reset, re-balance and improve your overall mental and physical health. A happier and healthier team member is a stronger asset for any leader.
If a proactive career break can help a young Australian win her maiden Grand Slam Singles Title, imagine the results it could yield for your employees and organisation. Equally, turn your mind to the potential benefit of hiring someone who has taken a career break. Their experiences could contribute to your team winning the workplace equivalent of your own Grand Slam. Remember it’s a career break, not a career break up. Fortune favours the brave.
Now if only Tennis Australia could encourage some other members of their team to take a career break we might see further improvements.
Congratulations to Ashleigh Barty and her incredible team. A true champion.
Thank you for reading.
About the Author:
Catherine Medhurst, CAHRI is a Certified Executive Coach, Facilitator and Change Manager, with specialities in Human Resources, Workplace Relations and Organisational Development. If you’re looking to achieve incremental improvements in your career contact Catherine to discuss how Executive Coaching might be the next step in realising your career potential.