Career Break

A career break is an extended period away from work that an employee arranges with their employer, with terms both sides agree on upfront. People take them for all sorts of reasons: family, health, personal circumstances, chasing a professional goal, wanting better work-life balance, going back to school, or just following some passion they’ve been putting off.

Some call it an “adult gap year,” and it’s caught on as more employees decide their personal life deserves equal billing with their career. Policies vary by company, so what counts as a career break at one place might look totally different at another. The closely related term is sabbatical, which typically runs up to 12 months.