Forty years ago, the pastor of our church announced to the congregation that a staff member was on an “approved sabbatical.” Like me, other people noticed this man was absent, with some wondering what happened to him.
Claiming that the church employee was on prearranged leave was the preacher’s polite way of answering our question. This fellow never came back, making me think he didn’t intend to or was fired. I’m sure he wasn’t paid during his absence.
Doctors are oftentimes jokingly referred to as being on sabbatical, with golf courses undoubtedly being their mecca of choice. I only say this because a receptionist told me that’s where many of them go to unwind. It does seem the perfect place to get away from stress.
I didn’t know exactly what sabbatical meant back then, only recognizing that Sabbath is sometimes used to describe a religious period of rest. Sunday is a day of Sabbath for many Christians. The Jewish celebrate the Sabbath from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. They call this, Shabbat. There is a big difference between Sabbath and sabbatical.
The Greek explanation for a sabbatical is: an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job. I found that interpretation to be quite interesting and open to further analysis. Generally speaking, those taking legitimate sabbaticals do so every few years. In this article, I use the word sabbatical as a politically correct way to describe employees stealing time.
Being observant, I like to watch folks at their places of employment, with some of them secretly or blatantly using electronic devices for nonwork purposes. I spot this activity all the time. Perhaps I’m just being an old fuddy-duddy and this is considered a new acceptable work ethic, but I don’t think so.
I recently saw an employee playing an online game in a somewhat secluded area at a big box store in town. I know this was the case because I walked up from behind and startled him with a question.
Driving around town, I constantly see construction workers standing about with their ears glued to phones. The other morning, a group of roofers were hard at work laying shingles, while one guy stood out like a sore thumb, trying to hide behind rolls of tarpaper while on his device.
During a recent and ongoing repaving project on Interstate 40, it wasn’t uncommon to see this practice. One fellow crouched behind an asphalt roller with a phone stuck to his ear—believing he was invisible to roaming eyes. I worked construction during my early years, with the only person needing to be on a phone—the foreman or superintendent.
A friend of mine managed large grocery stores for most of his lengthy career. Robert said that employees constantly using their cell phones during work hours was a definite problem. I suppose many of them saw this as being a power sabbatical of sorts much like power naps.
Studies show that employees spend an average of 2 – 3 hours each day on their electronic devices resulting in decreased productivity. It adds up quickly with wasted hours quickly turning into days. If you were to compile this misappropriated time over a year, the cost to employers would be substantial. One study shows it to be approximately 15 billion dollars annually.
Going back to the Greek explanation of sabbatical: an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job. Judging by that definition, and using data provided by workplace studies, without question, it can be said thousands of employees are taking unscheduled mini-sabbaticals over the course of a year. If they’re smokers or vapers, add extra to the amount of nonproductive time spent in the workplace.
It might be advantageous for those employees to ask their bosses if they can go on permanent sabbatical status, along with still collecting a paycheck. I mean, that’s basically what they’re already doing!
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