I'm getting ready to pull the plug at my company, but recently found that they have a "long leave of absence" policy, which could allow me to take a sabbatical instead of quitting right away. I'm trying to decide which one is the best for me.
Basically my real goal is to quit the company but use the sabbatical as a safety net in case things go bad (arbitrary example: I'm not sure how I would react if the stock market drops by 30% again by the end of the year. And I'm sure there are thousands of other scenarios where I could freak out)
Pros and cons of the sabbatical, as I see them:
PROS
- safety net if I decide I do not like the retired life or if my finances aren't as solid as I expected
- Conventional wisdom and my wife say that not taking a safety net would be foolish
CONS
- It seems like getting more than 3 months will be tough, if not impossible. I would have liked a year or 6 months at least
- The need to negotiate with my manager, convince him I intend to return (a bit dishonest as that is not my intent, and also has other ramifications, e.g. maybe the need to come up with an explanation of how this benefits the company), etc... sounds like a lot of work
- I would have liked a clear cut, being able to tell my colleagues "this is my last day" instead of telling them "see you in 3 months", only to not return. Dishonest, again, and not great for closure.
- the return date will be looming over my time off like a cloud in the distance
- I have no idea how to quit after the sabbatical. More stuff to research
- I have remaining paid vacation days that I might have to forfeit (while if I leave, I get to take them as paid holiday before I officially leave)
Basically, I badly want to quit, but it feels a little bit stupid to not take the safety net of a sabbatical as I go. Then again, taking the sabbatical feels like it would not give me the closure I expect.
Financially, I'm FI at this point (although of course additional buffer would always be great), so that's not directly part of the calculation at the moment for me. This is mostly an emotional decision.
What would you do in my situation?