Sabbatical - Regaining Balance

I work in a multinational IT organisation based in Hyderabad, India and currently on 6 months Sabbatical. Thought of sharing my experiences on this journey in case it helps anyone in anyway. This is the first blog in the chain about why and how I took this decision.

Blog1 : 16th October 2018

1. Career Goals vs Life Goals :

After working non stop for 18 years, I was almost hitting the mid life crisis along with niggling health issues. I had a fulfilling career & growth so far. I traveled quite a bit( lived in 18 cities across 10 countries). Got married in 2008 to a sensible girl & have two wonderful kids(boys aged 9 & 5). Have decent income, investments & lifestyle sprinkled with some inheritance & security of supportive extended family. Typical working class checklist items.

Despite these ticks, there has always been those days every month with those philosophical questions (why this, what next, YOLO, FOMO, FOBO etc). Books & internet just kept confusing me more. Being non believer didn’t help much either. 

2017 was quite impactful. After a month long family trip, my wife went through a health scare & a surgery. This changed the balance I enjoyed at home front, which was entirely in the hands of missus in role of “housewife” played by an ex coder. Talking care of two hyper active young boys & household isn’t easy job. Responsibilities on both fronts were manageable initially along with work travel, thanks to support from grandparents. But then, I started experiencing sporadic high pulse rate & back pain towards beginning of 2018 thanks to bad lifestyle choices.

Added to that, work responsibilities gradually kept growing. This shattered my belief that I have lot of time specially with good health at the age of 38! Something was amiss, off balance & needed reset.

2. Convincing Myself :

Concept of sabbatical always fascinated me as “mini retirement” or “innings break” in cricket term. Buying time in “cash rich, time poor society“ as a senior leader in my org would say. Unlike west, sabbatical is a bit new & rare concept in India since the dawn of desk job culture in last century. If you go to villages, you can still see the  reminiscence of how life would have been before industrial revolution hit India. 2-3 crops a year with sabbaticals in between. Time away from daily rut & deadlines to recharge, rethink & do what "you" want to do!.

Always thinking about work, the next project, or the next item on my to-do list, so to suddenly be free from deadlines and work obligations will be quite liberating.Letting those work-related emails and phone calls go unanswered, not stressing about not being able to check every item off my to-do list, and not being so hung up on being the perfect boss or employee while trusting that life will go on without my labour and me, sounded soul soothing & humbling! 

With all these going on in my head along with pros & cons, then came a moment on a working weekend when I was almost convinced that it’s time to take action.

3. Employment Policy & Eligibility :

Partially convinced, looked through the employment policies.I realized that I am eligible as organisation policy is quite staff friendly. Process is also smooth without any red tape. We need approval six months in advance though. Felt really great about the place I work. I took it as a reward for a long-time employee.

4. Family & Friends :

Next step was to discuss with missus. She looked confused & concerned about this whole thing at first but after few days of research she was equally excited.

Mom(who lives at native town with younger brother & only gets to see me once a year for few weeks) at first thought I was joking but then misunderstood that I have lost/quit my job. She started talking about business possibilities & not to worry at all for anything. After some explanation, she finally understood what it really means and was happy on the verge of tears. I couldn’t dare to tell her that I won’t be able to spend all 6 months with her.

Also spoke to few friends in office & outside. They didn’t think that it was a bad idea either! General theme was “Ja Jeele Apni Zindagi” a famous movie dialogue, which roughly translates to "go, live your life/dreams" :)

5. Finances & Career Risk :

Now comes the next important part for decision.

1. Finances : I have two home loan EMIs one of which is self sustaining, where as I can afford to pay for the other during those unpaid months. I don’t need tons of money based on quick calculation for 6 months of sabbatical, which will mostly be in India & probably one or two foreign trips. India is a huge country after all, with long history, mountain peaks, desert, numerous beaches, variety of city & country life. All those experiences for partial payment while a job awaits on your return does make sense.                                                
2. Job Security & Career Impact : Being a consistent performer since last 13 years in the same org gives a good mental cushion. No one is irreplaceable but combination of relevant experience, skills & attitude is what companies don’t really want to loose easily. My organisation is in expansion mode for next few years so I feel safe, though I am not certain what roles will be available when I am back. In a growing IT market with cut throat competition for experience & skill, this is a risk worth taking. You never know where I might end up after 6 months of search for meaning & contemplation!

I don’t believe that sabbatical is looked down upon in resumes. Most importantly it doesn’t even show as career gap normally. I might miss some technology/project changes but that can be easily caught up with.

The downside might be around social acceptance of it in the department, team, seniors, colleagues etc & might be seen as selfish/not commited enough. I am not sure about the reactions but there might be raised eyebrows/ jealousy but some might get inspired by it as well. What would I do about my restless syndrome with all the time in the world? I might end up wasting time vegetating or on useless stuff! Would it slow my pace & passion for work when I am back? Difficult year end appraisal, might miss some corporate ladder or loosing current roles are all possibilities. Still the pros outweighed any cons I could think of, by a margin.

6. Timing :

A) Is it right age? After few weeks of contemplation my conclusion was that there is no right age. I’ll always have ifs & buts, so “now” is the right time. Kids are almost self sufficient. Finances & health are in control.

B) When?  Kids academic year gets over around March with a long 2.5 months of summer vacation. A delay in new academic year is acceptable given how much real life experiences & learning they will have. Just needs further confirmation from schools.

April to September months are right in between mine & my wife’s birthdays so have special days to start & end this adventure.I would get some extra financial cushion of year end salary increase & variable pay(bonus) which happens by end of March. 

Hence concluded it to be from April to September 2019!

7. Boss & Approval :

Prep: I didn’t know how my boss would respond to this or the questions she would have, so I did some homework on policy, eligibility, process etc. Spoke to few folks who availed this in past to understand nitty gritty.

Discussion: Had a long call with her & was able to explain what it means for me & my family. Gave her confidence about the succession planning already in place for all the portfolios I own & it’s time to test it with effective handover. Also offered to support during crisis situation over phone. I put the request for a duration of 6 months with possibility to reduce/increase it based on situation. She was very supportive & I got the nod. Happily filled the form, got her signature and completed the HR formalities.

8. Next Steps :

Post decision and approval, it's time for execution to make the most of this precious time off. 

Budget & location planning responsibilities goes to missus. It’s clear in our head that this sabbatical isn’t about exotic locations or wild adventures or bucket list or any pressure to make it “amazing”.

I am responsible for the short term and long term financial goals alignment & contingencies on return.

I would get the work insurance cover & other benefits which is great. 

I am updating the list of pet projects(spans from “writing a book” to “teach computer to the underprivileged kids” to “start an education institution” to “DLT/AI/AR research” to “learn Mandarin” to “improve public speaking skill” to “six pack”) & technical upgrades I always wanted to do but couldn’t make time due to corporate & family grind!

I feel really excited about the unknowns at end of this sabbatical. Family, friends, travel, health, freedom from alarm/ stress, new people & experiences might even be life changing or fuel for another 5-10 years!

It’s time to doze off to be woken up by harsh alarm for another exciting day at office. The endless possibilities during these 6 months has suddenly added energy to every thing I am doing, along with significant increase in happiness quotient.

I hope to continue blogging regularly to capture and share this experience.

For now, Hasta la vista!