British employees are taking sabbaticals from work by the million for a chance to see the world, according to new research.
Direct Line Travel Insurance has revealed that three million workers have temporarily climbed off the career ladder during the last five years so that they can go travelling. Moreover, the research shows that a further 5.5 million are planning to similarly deviate from their careers.
It also found that 24 per cent of employees said they would be more likely to work for a firm that offered sabbaticals as a staff perk than one that didn't.
The government, public sector, finance and insurance industries are the sectors with the highest per cent of employees offered the chance to take a sabbatical (40 per cent) followed by IT and telecommunications (36 per cent) and medicine/health service (25 per cent).
Chris Price, business manager at Direct Line Travel Insurance, said: "Taking an extended break from work used to be the preserve of a privileged few, but now more and more people are taking time out from their careers to travel.
"It seems that firms are recognising this desire and are offering sabbaticals as a way of recruiting and retaining the best staff."
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