A few weeks to think your deep thoughts, write poetry, meander through the forest pondering the meaning of life and go full-on Thoreau — who could be against a period of deep rest and restoration?
Bosses, that's who. The accounting profession, like all professional services sectors, is accustomed to orienting workflow and load around clients' needs. That culture throws professionals into a pinball machine of acting and reacting as they leap to respond to client inquiries at any hour and press to meet deadlines dictated by long-ago proposals.
The act-react cycle was exhausting even before the COVID-19 pandemic upended workflow, home life and, for many, health and stamina. Burnout is endemic, aggravating a chronic talent shortage.
Now, more than ever, accounting and advisory firms need to center work around sustainable culture and practices.
Why not take a radical approach to time off, as does SAPRO, an international firm founded in 2017 to build global careers?
Realizing that the cyclical nature of audits creates a natural downtime, SAPRO just introduced a paid sabbatical including full, uninterrupted benefit coverage. This year, 114 professionals were out on sabbatical, taking up to three months to travel, volunteer or learn new skills.
Though more generous than most, SAPRO's radical sabbatical is in line with the trend detected by the 2022 Accounting MOVE Project, an annual survey that measures and supports the advancement of women and diverse talent, conducted in partnership with the Accounting & Financial Women's Alliance. The upsurge in sabbaticals offered by CPA firms is one of the most striking results of this year's Accounting MOVE Project report, set to be released on Oct. 28 by the AFWA. In 2015, 22% of MOVE firms offered sabbaticals. By last year, that was up to 28%. Now, it's 46%.
Corporate America hasn't caught on yet to the compelling appeal of sabbaticals. A study released in February by WorldatWork, a human resources consulting firm, found that only
Not ready to go so radical? Leading firms are easing into the extended time off pool: This year, Moss Adams, Lurie, Clark Nuber and The Bonadio Group all shut down completely for a week in July. In part, closing the office is yielding to the inevitable, with teams thinned by vacations and midsummer malaise. But it's strategic, too, recognizing that the best way to sustain work is to first sustain mental acuity and emotional resilience.
The risk-averse can build on the nearly universal perk of paid time off to volunteer, a benefit now offered by 88% of MOVE Project firms, having steadily increased since 2014, when 61% of firms offered a time subsidy for good works.
That's how the sabbatical spectrum starts, with one paid day of volunteering at a time, then one summer week at a time, with clients and professionals alike declaring a pause to milestones and dashboards.
Yes, of course, a short sabbatical could push a workplace to the brink of the notorious slippery slope, with employees asking for more. But what would really be so bad about adopting the summer sabbatical or the radical sabbatical? After all, most CPA firm leaders were against remote work, right up until March 2020 when a 180-degree lurch homeward was a matter of life and death. Firms not only coped, but thrived, finding new ways to collaborate with clients and each other. The strategic benefits of permanent hybrid and remote work will be unspooling for years.
What's so scary about a slippery slope anyway? It's only a threat if you resist and lose your balance. Others eye the same slope and see an exhilarating slide, picking up speed and having fun along the way, maybe even landing with a splash. There's only one way to find out.
