Gen Z is taking ‘micro-retirement.’ Don’t laugh.

Gen Z has been in the workforce just long enough to want out. Well, at least temporarily. The concept of a micro-retirement has started to trend (again) on social media, which makes it seem as if an entire generation of twenty-somethings wants to take an adult gap year.

Is this a rebranding of the more well-known sabbatical? Yes, with a couple of noteworthy caveats: Micro-retirement isn’t employer-granted — say goodbye to pay while you’re away or a guaranteed job upon return — and it’s meant to be more of a routine lifestyle choice to combat burnout and pursue personal passions.

But it’s not Gen Z that should be fixating on micro-retirement; it’s companies.

Employers can and should offer these sorts of breaks to their employees as a workplace benefit, especially if working remotely is no longer an option. Offering access to an employer-granted micro-retirement, which sounds far chicer than “sabbatical,” is one more set of golden handcuffs. It’s a perk akin to an employer-matched 401(k) or restricted stock units with a suboptimal vesting schedule or the ultimate golden handcuffs: health insurance.
Asking businesses to adopt workplace changes inspired by the whims of the youth can seem impractical and create the cliché “kids these days” response from older employees and bosses, but they should remember that the practice is not necessarily a new phenomenon.

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