Twelve years ago, Kathleen and Vern Carlson made a daring move: They quit their jobs, sold their house and sailed the Atlantic Ocean in a 38-foot sloop. Shocked friends questioned the timing of their sabbatical, claiming they wouldn't find work upon their return.

But the hiatus made sense to the Chicago couple. Vern, a systems analyst, felt adrift after his employer was bought by another company and his projects were put on hold. Kathleen, then a marketing executive for a commercial real estate firm, was exhausted from 80-hour work weeks. "I didn't know what balance was because my whole life was work," she recalls.

The Carlsons, who'd long dreamed of sailing the high seas, cruised the Atlantic for three years, covering 35,000 miles and visiting 26 countries. They figured their careers wouldn't suffer if they disappeared from corporate life during a recession--and they were right. Kathleen found a new job within four months of their return in 1993, and Vern got hired in a year. "We didn't miss anything," says Kathleen, 45, now a special events and meeting planner. "It was wonderful to see the world, learn about other cultures and become self-sufficient."

Recharge your energy
Once the exclusive domain of academics and executives, sabbaticals are now feasible for middle-income folks across industries. A 2002 survey of 551 companies nationwide by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 17 percent offer unpaid sabbaticals and 5 percent offer paid.

"A sabbatical can be a wonderful opportunity to recharge your energy," says Deborah Dobson, management consultant and co-author of Managing Up: 59 Ways to a Career-Advancing Relationship With Your Boss. "Many people don't work in their passions or can't be passionate about their work. If you don't have enough passion associated with how you apply your intellectual gifts, you'll be unhappy."

Breaking away can allow you to pursue a creative project, reflect on your career and expand your knowledge, either on your own or through an established program. But, there are drawbacks: You can lose your grip on office politics, fall behind on advances in your field and face the difficulty of managing others' perceptions that you're no longer committed to your career, according to Marci Taub, career strategist and author of Interview Yourself for Working Moms: A Guided Journal.

In this down economy, is it wise to step off the treadmill? That depends on your finances and your appetite for risk, along with precedents at your workplace. "If your employer needs to reduce the headcount temporarily, you may find that the company is more apt to greenlight your sabbatical request," Taub explains.

A hiatus need not be long to yield benefits. Meet two people whose short-term sabbaticals rejuvenated their careers, and a third, now on a work-related hiatus, who hopes to return with a fresh perspective.

Finding his inner-author. At 49, Harvey Freedenberg, of Harrisburg, PA, found himself at a professional crossroads. "After 23 years of practicing personal injury law, I was tired of handling what seemed like the same cases over and over again. I also was quite dissatisfied with the conflict, hostility and incivility that was starting to become endemic in the field of litigation, and I wanted to take time off to think about whether I wanted to continue to practice in this area."

But Freedenberg had another motivation: "My father had died of a heart attack at the age of 50. Whether or not I was going to live to an advanced age, I wanted to do certain things so I wouldn't look back with regrets." So Freedenberg, a father of two, took a six-month paid sabbatical and studied creative writing at Dickinson College. He wrote 10 short stories--one of which was published in a literary magazine. Upon his return to work, Freedenberg joined the firm's technology and intellectual property law group. "I returned refreshed and excited about the prospect of practicing law again," he says.

Finding her inner-athlete. In 1997, MaryEllen Mufich was a novice cyclist when she read about a cross-country bike ride to raise money for the American Lung Association. "I thought it would be really cool to participate, but I put the idea on the backburner," says Mufich, 41, a project manager for a Chicago insurance company. "I wanted to give myself a few years to become a better cyclist and become more physically fit."

Then a near-fatal car accident changed her perspective. "I thought, 'I may not even be alive next year, so I'd better do this now,'" she recalls. "I asked my boss if I could bundle my personal days and vacation time--four weeks, plus two that I carried over from the previous year--and take a seven-week hiatus."

Mufich got permission--and then spent six months training for the 3,400-mile ride. "Crossing that finish line meant more to me than completing my bachelor's degree," she says. "It gave me the confidence to know that I could do anything if I set my mind to it." Upon her return, Mufich got promoted into management. "People at work took me more seriously after I did the ride, probably because I felt more comfortable with myself and became more outgoing."

Finding his inner-scholar. John Tennant, of San Francisco, is passionate about Paris, French history, travel and his job as a union-side labor lawyer. This fall, he will combine those interests through a Fulbright grant to study how Paris police unions handle conflicts between officers and immigrants. "For some time, I've felt a need for professional growth," says Tennant, 39, who is taking a seven-month unpaid leave, combining fieldwork in Paris with travel throughout Europe. "This is a chance for me to renew my perspective and add dimension to my work."

Lessons in logistics

Experts and sabbatical takers alike agree that no matter what type of hiatus you want to take, be prepared to invest time, creativity and strategic thinking (especially where your employer is concerned) as you make plans. Here are some tips to keep in mind.

Put it in writing. Once you've thought through your reasons for taking time off and how you'll spend the time, find out whether your company has a formal leave policy. Then talk to your boss and put your proposal in writing. "Position your reasons for leaving in quantifiable ways," advises Michelle Burke, a career strategist and co-author of The Compass and The Clock. "List the benefits to the organization and explain why this move is critical for you." If you're returning to work after your hiatus, spell out the terms of your new assignment--and put them on paper--before you leave.

Crunch the numbers. If your leave is unpaid, determine how much you'll need to cover living expenses and then set a budget to help you accumulate that sum. "Over the past four years, every time either of us got a raise, the entire amount went into our sabbatical fund," says lawyer Wendi Berkowitz, who is taking an unpaid leave to accompany her husband, John Tennant, to Paris. If you quit to take a sabbatical, remember to calculate the amount you'll need to stay afloat while you're job hunting when you get back.

Stay connected. "By making myself available to answer questions about the project I'd just finished, I maintained my visibility within the company," says Mufich, who checked e-mail and voice-mail regularly.

Prepare re-entry strategy. Those contemplating a career switch or redirection might consult a career coach. "I had several sessions with a counselor and took a battery of tests to get information on my interests and aptitudes," Freedenberg says. "It helped me analyze whether I wanted to consider a career change."

As for returning to work, be prepared for an adjustment phase and to field questions. "Twelve years later, my trip across the Atlantic is still a conversation piece," says Kathleen Carlson. "When we go to parties, we always have something to talk about."

Cynthia Hanson is a freelance writer in Philadelphia. Her dream sabbatical would be to spend six months studying dance with Broadway's leading choreographers.