Understanding employees’ intention to take sabbaticals: Analyzing the role of supportive supervisors

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of supervisor support for employees’ work-life balance (WLB) on employees’ intention to take sabbaticals. According to the theory of planned behavior, intentions are based on attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, which mediate the relationship between supervisor support and the intention to take sabbaticals.

Survey data were collected from 510 employees in Germany. The hypotheses developed are analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The results show that supervisor support has a direct negative effect on employees’ intention to take sabbaticals. In addition, supportive supervisors are associated with a decreased attitude toward sabbaticals, which reduces employees’ intention to take them. In contrast, supervisor support promotes employees’ perceived behavior control, which increases their intention to take sabbaticals.

The findings show that supervisors play an important role in employees’ decision-making process regarding whether to take sabbaticals. If supervisors are supportive regarding employees’ WLB, the need to take sabbaticals decreases. However, in order to encourage participation and to exploit the positive outcomes of sabbaticals, supervisors should communicate the possibility of taking them.

Prior research has focused solely on the direct link between supervisor support and the actual use of WLB policies. As behavior is intentional, it is important to understand how supervisor support affects employees’ intention to take sabbaticals. This paper explores the mechanism that explains the relationship between supervisor support and employees’ intention to take sabbaticals.