> There is no snowballs chance in hell that a company will tolerate absence of their management staff that is longer than 4 weeks.
I've worked in places where, at any given time, at least one something-something manager was on a one-year sabbatical. One of them literally requested it -- and got it -- in order to spend more time with their daughter, who was going to college the following year, since that was their last chance to spend quality time with her for a few years. Lots of people in a non-management positions have trouble attending their kids' graduation ceremonies if they're out of state -- getting a whole year off to see them off to college is pretty much science fiction.
Yes, they generally didn't leave smack in the middle of a project, but there's a lot of no man's land in-between projects.
I don't understand how any of this is surprising. Justifiably or not, benefits and perks are clustered around leadership positions, that's literally one of the reasons why people are seeking them.
Plus, in many large companies, it can easily take 6-12 months to recruit someone for a leadership position. Granting three-month vacations to the people you already have is a really good idea.
Way closer to a junior dev than a C-level position ;-).
Edit: one-year sabbaticals aside, which aren't that common outside large companies, longer vacations are normal simply because extra paid vacation days are a standard benefit you get with a promotion.
I've worked in places where, at any given time, at least one something-something manager was on a one-year sabbatical. One of them literally requested it -- and got it -- in order to spend more time with their daughter, who was going to college the following year, since that was their last chance to spend quality time with her for a few years. Lots of people in a non-management positions have trouble attending their kids' graduation ceremonies if they're out of state -- getting a whole year off to see them off to college is pretty much science fiction.
Yes, they generally didn't leave smack in the middle of a project, but there's a lot of no man's land in-between projects.
I don't understand how any of this is surprising. Justifiably or not, benefits and perks are clustered around leadership positions, that's literally one of the reasons why people are seeking them.
Plus, in many large companies, it can easily take 6-12 months to recruit someone for a leadership position. Granting three-month vacations to the people you already have is a really good idea.