Don't think. Take that Sabbatical!
#2: How taking a sabbatical helped me overcome burnout and re-assess my career.
If you thought that sabbaticals are what only experienced, Jewish Professors take during the summer, then you are not alone. Thanks to Marvelous Mrs. Maisel1 that’s the exact view I had of a sabbatical. In reality, I found that sabbaticals are one of the best kept HR secrets. My company failed to disclose it as an option to me, even while recruiting, and as a fairly green employee I didn’t think to ask. I am so thankful to my manager who finally revealed its existence to me, when I told him that I planned to quit that is.
All week I had practiced how to quit. When the time came during our one-on-one, however, I blurted out without any preamble, “I think I need to quit.”
He seemed surprised. “Is there any particular reason?”
“I need to go check on my family, and I really need a break.” I replied, keeping it simple.
“Did you know that you have another option in that case? You can take a three month sabbatical instead.”
“What?!”
Basically, that’s when I got to know of this option. I spoke to HR, negotiated for a 3-4 month unpaid break and headed home. Data2 shows that the cost of refilling any role is around 1.5-2 times the position’s salary. Minimum. No wonder they were happy to accommodate me even though there was a chance that I would not return. The US Visa offices were still not open and I needed a stamp for re-entry, none of which was guaranteed at that moment. But I decided not to fret about the future, and I didn’t have the energy to. I philosophied that if it was meant to work out, it would. I turned out to be right.
The Break
When I landed in India, there remained a heightened level of screening for Covid. I had gotten both my vaccines before leaving the US and that made me feel comfortable meeting my family without need of a lengthy quarantine. But the first week back was a unpredicted shock to my system. It felt like I was emerging from a cave. In the US, Covid restrictions were still in place and I hardly met people outside of my circle of neighbors and friends. In India, on the other hand, life was back to normal or close to normal. People wore masks, albeit not always around their noses, and mostly kept their distances, but the atmosphere felt less restricted. Less fearful and less uncertain.
Moreover, spending time with my family and friends turned out to be a much needed balm. I was able to re-emerge from my covid-crusted shell. I went out for dinner, attended weddings, and played badminton. Most importantly, I socialized freely again. I even started learning web design. I understood then why social scientists and thought leaders harp on about the need for human connection. Only thing is, I would add animal ones to that.
For, my healing would not have been complete without the love from my dog and our new cat. As a lovely surprise I got to take care of a pregnant cat, Toffee, who wandered into our lives just when we needed her the most. One of my first projects of that break was to learn how to prepare a cat for birth and then how to help take care of the kittens. I turned to google often but my best teacher turned out to be Toffee herself. I took cues from her and provided food, blankets, litter, etc, whenever she needed them. I would say, without hesitation, that she is still the best mom I have ever seen in action. So responsible and loving. There is so much we can learn from nature, if only we would let ourselves.
My Other Project
The second half of my break was spent invested in a more “professionally” worthwhile project. My sister, an OB/GYN at a government hospital, regaled me with stories of women who did not have access to safe healthcare and how caste and class play a fundamental role. I also learnt how difficult it is for young female doctors to establish a name and space for themselves. Indeed, I came across institutional exclusion in a completely unexpected context and industry.
I was inspired to put my newly learnt web designing skills to good use. In that month, I envisioned and slowly created a platform that helped provide virtual and affordable access to OB/GYNs - www.thedoctress.org. The platform is still active and several women were able to get advice for their gynecological concerns through that. Unfortunately, we found it hard to reach a sustainable amount of patients without investing more time, money and resources.
For me, the main takeaways from that experience were:
Good intentions are not enough. To promote an initiative one also needs a strong PR team and a social media presence.
Women are hesitant to ask for help.
Doctors are kept insanely busy for pitifully low wages. My sister was being paid less than an entry-level software engineer from my alma mater and didn’t get even a single weekend off.
It is hard to establish a business in India without financial backing and connections.
I realized that I wanted to continue learning and developed a renewed interest in entrepreneurship.
In the end, the OB/GYN project remained just that. I decided not to pursue it as a business full-time when my family and I weren’t in a comfortable place financially. But the experience helped me finally see what I needed to do next. I knew that I had to continue working in the US but it dawned on me that I could switch roles. I didn’t have to stay in a specialized tech role which was, to be honest, severely limiting my career options and growth.
I’m not proud to admit this, but to learn what options would be available to me given my background, I didn’t reflect deeply or think about my ideal role. Instead, I Googled.
I learnt that remaining in a role close to engineering and one that I could switch to within my company would be the best bet for me but I didn’t know what that role would look like. Well, it turned out that Google did have the right answer for me - I should become a project manager of course!
And in case you were wondering, the visa offices re-opened in the nick of time and I was able to get my VISA stamped about a week before the deadline set forth by HR. Unfortunately, my blissful time at home had to end and before I knew it I was back at work and being thrown another curveball.
My company was going under and we had one month left either to find another company to acquire us or to collectively lose our jobs.
Talk about post-vacation blues.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5788792/
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/247391/fixable-problem-costs-businesses-trillion.aspx