Sabbatical Policy at Ballard Food Bank is a True Break for Staff

By Colleen Martinson, VP of Development and Communications

A sabbatical is a rest, a chance to breathe, an opportunity to explore. It’s an open door to the possibility of what can fill a day beyond work.

Colleen hikes in Sedona during her sabbatical

Before working at Ballard Food Bank, I wouldn’t have guessed that I’d be someone who could take a sabbatical from work. After all, no other workplace I’ve been a part of in my 20+ year nonprofit career has offered one.

Though there have been more nonprofits offering this type of benefit lately, most nonprofit employees I’ve encountered think a sabbatical is for someone else. Maybe an academic, or someone not dependent on a regular paycheck. Nonprofit staff work very hard, and a typical vacation means one week, maybe two away from work. Perhaps unsurprisingly, according to a 2021 report by the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, more than 60% of nonprofit professionals report symptoms of burnout. I would guess that percentage is even higher now, given the current political landscape and the difficulties facing nonprofits and the people we serve.

How did our sabbatical policy come about? As Executive Director Jen Muzia approached ten years of service and contemplated taking time away, she worked with the leadership team to create a policy for all staff to be able to do this. Open to all employees with five years of service, people started dreaming immediately about what time away could mean for them. Just the idea of it: five whole weeks of paid free time! At once!? (The sabbatical itself is four weeks long but per the policy, staff are allowed to add a week of vacation to it. Everyone who has taken a sabbatical thus far has turned it into five weeks.)

Pup Charlie got quality bonding during Sarah’s sabbatical

So far, travel and time with loved ones are at the top of everyone’s list. Nathaniel Lyon, Senior Manager of Community Advocacy and Outreach, traveled to multiple countries in Europe and was able to attend a family wedding in Spain. Sarah Huttula, Senior Manager of the Community Market, took her first trip to Hawaii and was able to spend time at home bonding with a new family member – her puppy Charlie.

I hiked in both Sedona and Ireland on sabbatical. I felt a deep need to experience a literal change of scenery; as I hoped, the beauty of both places inspired me. By the end of five weeks, my brain felt different - more open to possibilities, creativity, and play. More aware of who I am outside of work.

Those I talked with spoke in almost reverent tones about the level of deep rest they reached.

Sarah says, “It was life changing. I swam every day I was in Hawaii and was able to truly rest.” Both Nathaniel and Sarah mentioned the fact that during a typical, shorter vacation they just start to experience relaxation and then need to get back to work.

Nathaniel says: “I think vacations don’t really start to feel like vacation until after a week. So with (this much time) there’s time to separate. I felt less scattered after, for sure. So much here, there’s ten things happening at once. It was nice to be able to step away from the work and come back with some fresh perspective.”

Ysabel Diaz, Senior Manager of Food Access, will be taking her sabbatical this spring and mentions the other factor in stepping away from work for that period: consideration for those who will cover the load while she’s out.  She says, “I’m definitely looking forward to it but it’s a mix of being excited and being a little overwhelmed about being out of the office that long.” She describes it as something she looks forward to, especially when work gets hard, but she will be careful to spread the workload, so one coworker isn’t doing two jobs while she’s away.

Colleen enjoys the coastline of Ireland with her wife during her sabbatical

While I was out, the Development and Communications team did a great job of covering for me. When my leadership team colleagues were out, I had to adapt and learn some new things. A recent article in Harvard Business Review describes this as a “form of resilience training” for the company/organization, as a team has to fill in and those covering  “get stretch experiences and opportunities to prove themselves.”

Jen says: “I’m so glad we instituted this new policy at Ballard Food Bank. Giving staff an opportunity to recharge and have time away is so important to everyone’s wellbeing, especially when you’re giving back to the community day in and day out.”