I wish this was more common in the tech industry. I know for other industries this is basically a standard thing, but it seems like many tech companies don't do this.
Where I work now there's a sabbatical scheme where you can contribute X amount of salary per month to an entire year paid off (every 3 years).
But hey, I'm not leaving before everyone else everyday. I've had flextime at every job since 1999. Wonder how long it's going to take them to catch on, since I can get another job pretty easily (2-4 weeks max). It's been kind of nice though only doing 3 full days.
according to google, sabbatical is:
> a period of paid leave granted to a university teacher or other worker for study or travel, traditionally one year for every seven years worked.
I don't think I've ever had a vacation longer than 10 days.
I feel like in academia it is easier for a sabbatical as you can go to another university and study something different.
Probably not a fair comparison - professors don't typically go on sabbatical to take another position at the same institution.
So technically you can spend it on the beach, but don't be surprised when your coworker who learned "language or framework of the week" is going to get the choice assignment or promotion you really wanted. Of course if you edit your book or learn a new language while sitting at a beach, or you are the primary organizer of a tech conference that happens to be on a tropical island or other vacation spot ...