Gap year is known as the 12-month period in which a person is dedicates to a particular life project, taking a leave of absence from their professional functions..
Unlike vacations, the gap year is not provided for in labor laws and companies are not required to grant their employees this type of leave. However, the sabbatical period is considered an opportunity for personal and professional growth for people, making it accepted and motivated by many companies.
As a rule, to take a sabbatical, the employee needs present a project for the company he works for, showing how the period of absence can be beneficial both personally and professionally. Some companies even finance the employee's sabbatical project, either in part or in full. In some cases, employees who leave on sabbatical continue to receive their salaries normally.
There are several reasons that lead people to take sabbaticals, with personal dissatisfaction being the main motivation for them to seek alternatives that enable the execution of new activities that satiate the frustrations caused by not having some personal goals fulfilled, for example.
Unlike vacations, which are intended exclusively for the worker's rest, the sabbatical period (which lasts at least 6 months) is granted precisely so that the person has the opportunity to put into practice a particular project or have life experiences in other cultures, which will help to develop your personality and your working skills in different areas.
The sabbatical year is based on a traditional Jewish custom known as the sabbath (sabbath, in Hebrew), which consists of the rest day for the jews (the seventh day of the week, corresponding to Saturday, currently).
sabbatical year in the bible
Also known as Shemitah ("deliverance", in the literal translation from the Hebrew), the sabbatical year is described in the Torah (holy book of the Jewish people) as the earth rest period, where Jews could not cultivate agriculture.
According to the rules of the Jewish bible, the sabbatical year must be done every seven years, that is, six years of cultivating the land and the seventh is dedicated to its rest and recovery. Remembering that this system is also followed weekly by the laws of Judaism, with six days of work and the seventh of rest (sabbath).
See also: meaning of Shabbat shalom.