Workplace: Taking a break from a career

Nearly 64% of women have interrupted their careers for parental, medical or mental health leave. Photo: AFP

Long considered taboo or frowned upon in the workplace, work breaks are no longer necessarily looked down upon. With the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences, recruiters increasingly view employees who have taken a break as “an untapped talent pool”.

The way these pauses are perceived is changing, and as such perceptions shift, so are the values of the working world. Illness, burn-out, bereavement, parental leave, career change... there are many reasons to put one’s career on hold, sometimes beyond one’s control.