[at-l] Leave of Absence

[shane@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Shane Steinkamp)]

> I have an important request/question.  For those of
> you that requested and were granted a leave of
> absence to hike, what did you put down as the reason
> for your request?  Did you go into an explanation of
> the benefits you perceive the company reaping from
> your walking for 6 months?

While the FMLA allows a twelve week leave of absence for several reasons,
including stress, you need more than that so you'll need to come up with
something really good if you boss is a hard-nose.

There are a couple of approaches, although mostly I just said, "I need to
leave for six or eight months; are you going to give me a leave of absence,
or should I quit?"  No need to be rude, but no explanation necessary either.
Of course, I had good bosses and jobs that I didn't care that much about...
Even if I quit, they usually re-hired me when I came back.

Now, if you LIKE this job, and want to keep all your bridges open, there are
a few things you could consider.

Saying things like, "I want to go hiking for six months.", or "I want to try
an experiment in homelessness." are not likely to garner much support.  Try
this:

"To pursue an opportunity for personal enrichment and fulfillment."

If pressed for an explanation, be prepared with quotes from Thoreau, and
other romantic period writers.  Be able to articulate the etheric experience
you are seeking.  You must be able to state this plainly but
enthusiastically.  Remember that you may be trying to convince someone that
what you are doing isn't insane.

If your boss (or HR department head) is a dull witted sluggard, you may be
asked to explain how this leave of absence benefits the company.  If that
happens you need to calculate the cost of your salary, including taxes, and
indicate that the company saves that money while you are gone.  If a
temporary replacement has to be hired, then that impacts the figure, but
most companies can do without one employee for a few months. You could
continue to spout off about morale and quote various Communists on the
subject of worker happiness and productivity, but you'll loose most people
at that point.

Of course, you could avoid some of this with some companies by requesting a
religious sabbatical instead of a leave of absence.

Having said all that, the first thing you need to do is find out your
company policy on long term leave, and follow it to the letter.  Also find
out what the presidents are.  Has anyone else taken long term leave in the
last year or two, and for what reasons?  This kind of information will help
you craft your request based on your companies' SOP.

Shane