Burnout, meaningless work and stalled careers continue to contribute to a historic number of workers quitting (or quiet quitting). How can these people craft work that is truly better?

Our research suggests that one answer is to take a sabbatical — an extended break from your job lasting long enough for you to truly distance yourself from your normal work life.

We found that those who took a sabbatical largely experienced significant, positive changes in their work and life. We dug deep into their experiences before, during and after their sabbaticals to map what made their time away so transformative. Here are three different sabbatical types we discovered, each with a unique combination of experiences that led to increasingly radical transformations in people’s work and life:

1. WORKING HOLIDAYS

People who chose this type of sabbatical did so to work on a passion project. They alternated between intense periods of work and dedicated breaks to rest and rekindle long-neglected relationships. Through this combination of chosen work and rest, they slowly gained trust in “that little voice” in their head and started “feeling more sure-footed” with themselves and their decisions.

These sabbatical-takers mainly ended up returning to their former jobs, but with new confidence about how to make that work fit them. Their confidence also extended to drawing clearer personal boundaries: less work travel or turning down opportunities that sacrificed too much family time.

2. FREE DIVES

People who fell into this category were pulled into their sabbaticals by wanderlust. Free divers leaped out of work and dove straight into intense exploration. This travel was often far more intense than expected, however, and exposed people to the elements, health risks and their own limitations. As a result, breaks were necessary to rest and heal.

Most free divers returned to their pre-sabbatical profession, but not their pre-sabbatical work itself. They pursued new projects, arrangements, positions or employers that fit their talents and their values.

3. QUESTS

The third group had the most dramatic transformations. Questers were pushed out of work by unsustainable expectations and toxic organizational cultures. Exhausted and burned out, the sabbatical was a last resort because continuing on their current path was untenable.

Quests started slow, with extended time to heal: sleeping in, eating healthier and reconnecting with loved ones. As people felt better, they grew excited to make more of their sabbaticals. Like free divers, they ventured out and pushed their personal limits to discover themselves.

As they gained perspective, they grew eager to put that growth into practice. Like those on working holidays, they pursued non-routine work — certification, gig work or networking opportunities to “prototype,” “craft” and “hypothesis-test” potentially better careers. But unlike those who took working holidays or free dives, questers rarely went back to their old jobs.

Regardless of the sabbatical they chose, and in spite of any harsh experiences, elements or emotions that many would face, every one of our participants reported a positive transformation.

Burnout, meaningless work and stalled careers continue to contribute to a historic number of workers quitting (or quiet quitting). How can these people craft work that is truly better?

Our research suggests that one answer is to take a sabbatical — an extended break from your job lasting long enough for you to truly distance yourself from your normal work life.

We found that those who took a sabbatical largely experienced significant, positive changes in their work and life. We dug deep into their experiences before, during and after their sabbaticals to map what made their time away so transformative. Here are three different sabbatical types we discovered, each with a unique combination of experiences that led to increasingly radical transformations in people’s work and life:

1. WORKING HOLIDAYS

People who chose this type of sabbatical did so to work on a passion project. They alternated between intense periods of work and dedicated breaks to rest and rekindle long-neglected relationships. Through this combination of chosen work and rest, they slowly gained trust in “that little voice” in their head and started “feeling more sure-footed” with themselves and their decisions.

These sabbatical-takers mainly ended up returning to their former jobs, but with new confidence about how to make that work fit them. Their confidence also extended to drawing clearer personal boundaries: less work travel or turning down opportunities that sacrificed too much family time.

2. FREE DIVES

People who fell into this category were pulled into their sabbaticals by wanderlust. Free divers leaped out of work and dove straight into intense exploration. This travel was often far more intense than expected, however, and exposed people to the elements, health risks and their own limitations. As a result, breaks were necessary to rest and heal.

Most free divers returned to their pre-sabbatical profession, but not their pre-sabbatical work itself. They pursued new projects, arrangements, positions or employers that fit their talents and their values.

3. QUESTS

The third group had the most dramatic transformations. Questers were pushed out of work by unsustainable expectations and toxic organizational cultures. Exhausted and burned out, the sabbatical was a last resort because continuing on their current path was untenable.

Quests started slow, with extended time to heal: sleeping in, eating healthier and reconnecting with loved ones. As people felt better, they grew excited to make more of their sabbaticals. Like free divers, they ventured out and pushed their personal limits to discover themselves.

As they gained perspective, they grew eager to put that growth into practice. Like those on working holidays, they pursued non-routine work — certification, gig work or networking opportunities to “prototype,” “craft” and “hypothesis-test” potentially better careers. But unlike those who took working holidays or free dives, questers rarely went back to their old jobs.

Regardless of the sabbatical they chose, and in spite of any harsh experiences, elements or emotions that many would face, every one of our participants reported a positive transformation.

Over the next six months, you and your classmates are going to make one of your first major life decisions: where to start your freshman year at college. But where isn’t the only important question — you should also consider when.

Rushing off to the next step in life can worsen burnout in the short term and could mean the difference between pursuing an authentic life and living out someone else’s dream for you. It’s worth exploring the benefits of taking a gap year instead.

THE BENEFITS OF A GAP YEAR

On almost every metric, pursuing a college degree remains a sound decision. That’s not in question. The timing of that education, however, is. For many, taking a gap year — typically defined as an academic year-long break between secondary school and university — can reduce stress and burnout, improve academic performance, and be instrumental in finding purpose.

HOW TO TAKE A GAP YEAR

You’ll need to start with two stages: finding inspiration and permission, researching the logistics, and developing a blueprint for action.

While most people are familiar with the concept of a gap year, the process of taking one itself is not as well known. So, your challenge in looking for inspiration and permission is to find someone who has actually taken a gap year and learn from them. You can start by posting about it or asking friends and family if they know of anyone you could talk to. This will enable you to learn firsthand the lessons, best practices, and possibilities for a year off the routine path.

As you talk to others about their gap year experiences, you should also start exploring what’s available for you logistically. You’ll want to know what your school’s leave of absence and deferral options are. You may be worried that deferring your admission will hurt your standing before you even set foot on campus, but quite the opposite is true. Even those schools that don’t offer an explicit gap year program may defer admission or offer a leave of absence after meeting certain criteria.

If you decide that a gap year is right for you and it’s doable logistically, there are three main elements to consider in your blueprint: your budget, your desired level of independence, and whether or not to travel or stay at home.

In college, we begin the process of choosing our field of work. We meet lifelong friends, even spouses. There are so many reasons why post-secondary education is important. But college has increasingly become an epicenter for burnout, prompting inauthentic career choices and an accumulation of debt that stays with people for decades. Gap year alumni and research on extended leave suggest that one of the best strategies for stepping forward from high school to college may be to step out of this routine altogether for a bit. By taking a gap year, you can focus on first knowing yourself before going on to make some of the most important decisions of your life.