Working breaks

Self-decided or forced working breaks

Times of lifelong working in the same company, at the same location, in the same occupation are past. Work-less periods, breaks, changes of jobs and changes within a job more and more belong to normal working life. Forced breaks like unemployment or short-time work cannot be avoided. Health impairment can cause working inability.

Apart from that, more and more people use the sabbatical as an opportunity for private activities or spending more time with the family. Other ways are parental leaves and maternity protection periods. Project work, in many occupations, causes breaks between the projects, in which some companies push their employees to taking paid or unpaid vacation periods.

• Use working breaks in your life productively, e.g. attending further education and caring for your health
• Think in advance of the possibility that one day you might be forced to take a break, and consider ways to spend that time. The better you are prepared, the better you can react
• Those breaks give you time to reconsider your job situation and see whether you want to stay in this job, company or branch or maybe take the opportunity to go new ways