Sabbaticals give employees chance to rest, recharge. Workers love the perk.

Money managers owe part of their success to years of dedication put in by their staff. And some firms are rewarding these employees with paid sabbaticals, giving them time not only to reconnect with themselves, their families and the world, but also to avoid burnout.

Paid sabbaticals can give people the chance to engage in activities they would not have time to do outside office hours or standard paid-time off, according to respondents to this year's 2023 Best Places to Work in Money Management survey.

Employees took the opportunity to do such things as travel to dream destinations, visit family in another country and practice a new skill.

It is one of the key ways that employers can tell employees, "we really care about you," said Sonya Mughal, CEO at Bailard.

The Foster City, Calif.-based wealth management firm began offering six-week paid sabbaticals in 1985 to employees for every seven years they have been with the company, making it one of the longest-running programs among winners in the Best Places program.

"Yes, you have to put in some tenure ... but you deserve to take time off," she said in an interview. "You deserve to take care of yourself."

Bailard, which managed $5.4 billion in assets as of Sept. 30, ranked No. 1 among money managers with 50 to 99 U.S. employees in the Best Places survey.

Employees who have taken sabbaticals drive the program's value within their firms, talking about what they did and sharing photos from their experience in company newsletters.

But not all sabbaticals involve fun and relaxation. Some people, including Mughal, spent their time on personal tasks, including family-related emergencies.

She also noted that not all employees can afford to take their break depending on their stage of life. Taking care of aging or sick parents or raising young children can make it difficult for employees.

At Innovest Portfolio Solutions, employees can take a monthlong paid sabbatical after 10 years and are eligible for another every three years afterward.

Chief Operating Officer Peter Mustain, who has been at the Denver-based firm for 20 years, is deferring his next sabbatical until his children are older and can do more on the travel front.

With her older, college-age daughter, President Wendy Dominguez went on an extended trip to Italy during the summer of 2023, with Mustain adding that they "had the time of their lives."

In his previous sabbatical, Mustain spent part of it on a summer trip that involved fishing and hiking with his young children. He also took golf lessons and did other personal activities "difficult to do" unless one has the time.

Innovest advised $45 billion in assets as of June 30. Since the Best Places awards launched in 2012, Innovest has been recognized nine times as a winner, including in 2023.

Paid sabbaticals remain a rare incentive offered across different industries, according to a report published by WorldatWork, an association for human resources management professionals.

Among 896 companies surveyed by the organization in 2022, 9% included paid sabbaticals in their total rewards package, with technology firms leading other industries. In contrast, 8% of the 801 companies surveyed in 2017 offered sabbaticals.

The uptick in paid sabbatical programs can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Alicia Scott-Wears, director of total rewards content at WorldatWork. She added that "even a moderate increase is significant" when it comes to rewards package offerings.

Coinciding with the pandemic, some of the BPTW winners offering paid sabbaticals launched their programs in the past three years, including Heitman, Pugh Capital Management and Pzena Investment Management.

Ballentine Partners announced its sabbatical program in 2019, and the first employee started in the first three months of 2020. By the end of 2023, 15 employees will have completed their sabbaticals, said Brie Elliott, head of human resources at the Waltham, Mass.-based multifamily office.

Partners at Ballentine are eligible after five years and general employees are eligible after 10 years. The firm offers up to 90 days of sabbatical but employees don't have to take it all. The first two weeks are fully paid, and employees may use paid vacation days and unpaid time for the remainder of the program.

In its 2022 emerging trends report, the American Psychological Association reported that close to 80% of 1,501 U.S. employees surveyed experienced burnout from workplace stress.

Ballentine's Elliott said a sabbatical is one way of alleviating burnout.

"It's about supporting (employees') own mental health and their own energy levels so they can come back feeling energized," Elliot said in an interview. "They can come back looking at things in a different light, perhaps more innovative."

Ballentine, which managed $10 billion in assets as of June 30, has been a BPTW winner six times, including in 2023.

Stadion Money Management's offering came about in a different way. When the Watkinsville, Ga.-based firm was acquired by Smart Pension in 2022, it adopted the U.K.-based retirement technology company's five-week paid sabbatical program.

Prior to the acquisition, a Stadion employee was allotted 15 to 35 days of vacation time, depending on level and seniority. They also had 10 sick days, two floating holidays and company holidays when the New York Stock Exchange is closed.

The European influence on the firm's benefits program "just sweetens the deal for employees," Stadion President Duane Bernt said in an interview.

Stadion reported an AUM of $2.1 billion as of Oct. 31. The firm has been a BPTW winner five times, including in 2023.

Pzena launched its two-week paid sabbatical program in 2023 for employees with at least 25 years at the New York-based firm. The 28-year-old firm "just started having employees cross over that threshold," Chief Human Resources Officer Kerry O'Hearen said.

For their 20-year milestone, Pzena employees get to choose a gift such as tickets, a watch or diamond earrings. For the 25-year milestone, the firm's executives "thought the best thing to do is give (employees) time," O'Hearen added. Pzena, which managed $53.4 billion in assets as of Oct. 31, has been a BPTW winner three times, including in 2023.

Pugh usually awards its employees additional paid time off for milestone anniversaries, which come in increments of five years. In 2021, the Seattle-based firm started offering three-week paid sabbaticals for the 15th anniversary milestone.

Chief Operating Officer Jean-David Larson noted that the sabbatical is meant to be additive, meaning employees can add on paid time off and take as much as six weeks without worrying about money or job security.

"It's an acknowledgment to the person that we value them having personal time and work-life balance, and then we've got their back," Larson said.

Pugh, which had an AUM of $10 billion as of Sept. 30, has been a BPTW winner six times, including in 2023.

Paid sabbaticals at Heitman started in 2022 to provide a better incentive for the Chicago-based firm's points-based anniversary program.

Every five years of service, employees were able to spend points on a reward of their choice, said Lindsay Caughlin, vice president of compensation and human resources information systems at Heitman. But "employees didn't necessarily love the options they could be awarded," added Olivia Carter, assistant vice president of human resources at firm.

Employees who worked for five years could take a one-week sabbatical, while those who served 10 years were allowed three weeks. People celebrating 15 years and beyond are given four weeks at five-year intervals. Employees also are allowed to add five days of paid time leave to their sabbatical.

Since Heitman began offering sabbaticals, Carter said that "it's more of a rarity that people aren't taking" their award.

"We've had great success with this," she added. "You even hear buzz in the hallway when employees are planning their sabbatical or just returning."

Heitman, which had an AUM of $51 billion as of Sept. 30, has been a BPTW winner four times, including in 2023.

For money managers with fewer than 50 employees, it can be hard to find someone within the firm who can fill in for a person on sabbatical, especially if their responsibilities are unique.

For example, Stadion's Bernt said his small firm has one compliance officer.

"The flip side is when you have a good culture and people are cross-trained, there's an element of having good relationships and familiarity with your co-workers that allows for more flexibility," Bernt said.

Innovest's Mustain said when employees at the small-sized firm go on sabbatical, their emails are forwarded to a co-worker. He added that the plan prevents returning employees from being inundated with a month's worth of missed messages and gives their employees "the opportunity to do things that might be new."

Kathy Tignor, head of human resources at WisdomTree Asset Management, said sabbaticals create a "developmental opportunity" for co-workers around the employee on leave, gaining "step-up ability" to take on more then they usually would.

WisdomTree has offered its eight-week paid sabbatical program since 2015, allowing employees can take at least four weeks off at once and may choose when they want to take the remaining four weeks. Employees have up to two years of their 10th anniversary to take their sabbatical.

The New York-based firm, which ranked No. 2 among firms with 100 to 499 employees, had an AUM of $98 billion as of Nov. 28.

Bailard's Mughal said the midsized firm hires temporary workers to fill in for employees on sabbatical. This might cost money for the company, but she said the expenses have not been a burden. Feedback for the program has been positive; employees coming back stress-free and "ready to hit the ground running," she added.