Be Well, 0222 WYBJ, Vol. 45 No. 1. 46

• Author: Maryt L Fredrickson
• Position: Vol. 45 1 Pg. 46

Be Well

Vol. 45 No. 1 Pg. 46

Wyoming Bar Journal

February, 2022

Sabbaticals: The Benefits of Bigger Breaks

Maryt L Fredrickson

Attorney Jackson, Wyoming

By the time this column publishes, I will have begun the third sabbatical of my career. To be clear, my sabbaticals are self-created and unpaid. Formal sabbatical programs at law firms are paid or partially paid. A few law firms and some private companies in Wyoming offer sabbatical programs, and the number may now be growing. The last quarter of 2021 saw a large rollout of sabbatical programs at national mid-size law firms in an effort to improve attorney well-being and correspondingly to improve recruitment and retention. National mid-sized law firms are something far different than mid-sized firms in Wyoming, but the benefits of sabbaticals as part of attorney well-being is worth a look, no matter the size of the firm.

Living within the practice of law is not easy: it is a high-stress, fast-paced and demanding profession. The practice of law takes a mental, emotional and sometimes physical toll. Family and social lives may be difficult to manage during full-time practice. Hobbies and non-work intellectual stimulation may fall by the wayside. Work-life balance may feel elusive. Professional burnout is not uncommon. But studies show that when comparing similarly-situated people who take sabbaticals and those who do not, those who take sabbaticals return with more resilience to stressors, less psychological strain, and improved overall well-being.

What is a Sabbatical?

Sabbaticals are familiar in the world of academia where they are typically one year in length and allow a professor to travel, conduct research, and publish. Outside of academia, sabbaticals vary in length, usually from three to six months, and are usually offered at set intervals, after a certain number of years with the...