A Gift of Time

bout de papier, Vol. 22, No. 1 (2006) — Spring 2006 // Printemps 2006, pp. 24–25

In 2002-03, after 24 years and 11 different assignments in the Department, I took a year off. A 12-month sabbatical with time to play, read, travel, and do different things that my work schedule did not usually allow.

Don’t get me wrong,

I wasn’t sick of work. I didn’t hate my job, my bosses, or my colleagues. Quite the contrary. I loved working in then-GMR and enjoyed the stimulation of constant change and activity in the region. I wasn’t running away from anything.

But I was fatigued by the unrelenting nature of work. Day after day, week after week — that familiar routine. With few exceptions, I have been getting up to go to school or work almost every Monday morning since I was five years old. And the work seemed to be expanding, taking a little more time and energy every year, leaving less personal time. My allotment of annual leave wasn’t sufficient any more to alter the nature or tempo of my routine.

I wasn’t looking for an epiphany, I wasn’t expecting to change my life. I hoped that a year away from work would simply give me time for myseif.

So?

I had the best year! It really was a gift of time.

I read 38 books (about 30 more than I usually manage). I enjoyed the outdoors in every season. I rode my bike, hiked, camped, picnicked, skied during the week on well-groomed, mostly empty hills and regularly skated the canal. I was in the best shape of my life.

I was comfortably busy and never bored. I took on new volunteer activities: mentoring a disabled person, chairing my parish council, joining an affordable housing committee. I even took up the piano. A real challenge for a 40-something adult with no natural musical ability whose only instrument was the recorder in grade 8. But it was fun to make a start.

I have never felt so relaxed. I enjoyed small pleasures like going out for lunch — and not watching the clock; reading all afternoon without guilt or pressure; sleeping in on a rainy day; heading to the slopes for first tracks. Even everyday chores became less burdensome. The gift of time let me spread out all the things I used to cram into evenings and weekends.

Other revelations: the absence of lineups when you do things on weekdays. We went to movie matinees which felt like private showings, never waited for a chairlift at the ski hill and rarely got stuck in traffic. Things are also cheaper during the week, but of course seniors have known that for years.

We had planned a little travel — our month in New Zealand would have been difficult to arrange if I had been at work. Returning from a long holiday and NOT being overwhelmed by e-mails was a much appreciated bonus. The death of my uncle in Calgary — and my parents’ coincidental illnesses in Montreal a few months later — were both easier to handle without the distractions of work responsibilities or deadlines.

How I proceeded:

Most contracts contain a provision for self-funded leave without pay (LWOP). This allows you to deduct a portion of your salary — usually 20% — over 4 years. This money is placed in a trust which you will draw on in the fifth (LWOP) year. The up side of this arrangement is that the saving is done for you and there is some tax relief because your income is reduced during the deduction period. The formal nature of this process can be a down side — especially if you wish to change your mind about the leave, or want to come back to work early — because of the tax implications and repayments.

In the end, I opted for the informal route and simply saved every third paycheque — more or less — for a couple of years. Informal was also attractive to me because I was still hesitant about approaching my boss with the LWOP request. Since I am non-rotational, the process to replace me would fall upon her, rather than Personnel.

As it turned out, all my managers were very supportive, and we found a terrific replacement. (I had already decided to look for a new assignment on my return, so it probably helped that the opening in GMR would be for more than one year.

The bottom line:

There were costs to such an undertaking. I joked that I had 12 months of leave but only I months’ savings! Seriously, I really was short of cash at the end — hurray for plastic! It’s interesting to see how the money disappears, without that bi-weekly cash infusion, especially as the amount I had put by was roughly equivalent to my eventual pension.

In addition, my husband, who works for himself, experienced a serious slowdown in his business that year. This placed more pressure on our finances. He likes to say that during my year off, he had an off year. Suffice to say, you probably can’t put aside too much money.

There is also a professional cost to absenting yourself from the office and the system. It was not easy to identify a new assignment from home. While looking for openings, it became quickly apparent that “out of sight, out of mind” posed a major challenge when following up on potential opportunities. People tend to stop thinking about you once they no longer see you in the hallways.

And even when a new assignment is confirmed, the return to work can be traumatic. Even though I had never considered not returning to work (too young, too impoverished) it was VERY hard to come back. Not because of the work — was very fortunate in my supervisors and colleagues in TMM. Rather, the loss of freedom, flexibility and fresh air were very keenly felt. I was in bed before 9 p.m. every night the first week back in the office.

Before and after LWOP:

LWOP in excess of three months results in cessation of contributions to such programmes as Superannuation, United Way, the Public Service Health and Dental Care Plans, etc. Premiums for these latter two programmes must be pre-paid. It totalled about $1100 for me.

If you wish to count your time off as pensionable service, Superannuation can be repaid over a period of up to twice the length of your leave. The amount owed (your share as well as the employer’s) is deducted from your paycheque following your return to work. Your pay advisor will provide good advice on the various requirements and options available to you.

Last words:

Alas, my good intentions to maintain the healthy balance gained during my time away fell by the wayside. I still eat at my desk far too often and don’t get out for walks very often. I guess even a year was not enough to change the habits of a lifetime.

In addition, as I have kept up most of the new things I tried — piano, volunteer work, etc. — I am now busier than I was before my year off. But I am pleased about these new commitments and mostly manage to incorporate them into my routine.