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<\/p>\n\u201cLooking at long service or sabbaticals, this break is provided by the employer, while micro retirement is often a voluntary choice to terminate their employment and live through personal savings or government support,\u201d Mariappanadar says.<\/p>\n
Social analyst and demographer Mark McCrindle says the micro retirement trend is partly a response to discussions about longevity, as many Australians live longer and work later in life.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are sprinkling their retirement years or taking those career breaks, or those years of freedom, the post-work years throughout their life rather than just at the conclusion of a career,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
One of the greatest benefits of the trend is its emphasis on work-life balance and wellbeing.<\/p>\n
\u201cA micro retirement means that it\u2019s not retirement \u2013 they\u2019re not tapping out, they\u2019re not quitting work or not saying I\u2019m not going to be a contributor any more,\u201d McCrindle says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re saying: to do that, I just need this micro refreshment, and that\u2019ll gear me up for the second, the third or the fourth chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Lim, this is exactly what her 18-month break, from mid-2023 to the end of 2024, did.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been a workaholic, so taking this micro retirement forced me to slow down and take a break,\u201d she says. \u201cI saw a big impact on my mental health and happiness, and the accumulation of experiences during that time was priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n
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More Gen Z and young Millennials are choosing to \u201cmicro retire\u201d to pursue interests such as travelling. Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
For 24-year-old Georgia Jones, from Sydney\u2019s northern beaches, her two three-month micro retirements \u2013 in 2023 and 2025 \u2013 not only allowed her time to recharge but also to pursue other opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy first micro retirement was spent travelling and just relaxing, but the second I stayed at home and used the time to work on my art and graphic design, which is something I\u2019d been doing in the background for years but never had enough time to put my full attention into while working full-time,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Jones, who studied marketing at university, says her previous and current marketing roles are important to her, but she hopes one day to pivot her career, turning her graphic design side hustle into a full-time job.<\/p>\n
\u201cMicro retirement allowed me the time to work towards this goal because I had savings to fund my time off, and without kids or a mortgage and still living at home with my parents, [it] meant that I could dedicate a lot of time to creating art and also developing social media platforms and a website to promote my work.\u201d<\/p>\n
The career landscape is changing, says McCrindle, and micro retiring suits the new scene, especially for younger generations like Jones\u2019, who use the opportunity to invest in themselves and their future.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole career trajectory of life has changed,\u201d he says, \u201cwith a lot more upskilling, retraining and career reinventing. It\u2019s not a career ladder, it\u2019s more of a jungle gym. You move sideways and across.\u201d<\/p>\n
While micro retirement might offer some benefits, Sarah McCann-Bartlett, chief executive of the Australian HR Institute, says resigning from your job may cause issues.<\/p>\n
\u201c[It can] put holes in your work history, which may make you less attractive to future employers,\u201d she says. \u201cIt can sometimes take a while to get a new job once you\u2019ve concluded your break.\u201d<\/p>\n
It can also have a negative impact on your financial future.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIf you\u2019re not on paid leave, then you won\u2019t be contributing to short-term or long-term savings, especially superannuation,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Mariappanadar agrees. \u201cThe Australian Bureau of Statistics has indicated there\u2019s more than 34 per cent of current employees actively looking for more work, so why would any employer give an opportunity for micro retirement? They would say, \u2018OK, if you\u2019re leaving, you\u2019re gone. We\u2019ll find someone else\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both Lim and Jones say they found jobs quite quickly after deciding to rejoin the workforce, but they had concerns before taking their micro retirement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking hard through school, uni and then into a full-time job, taking a break without a job or financial security scared the shit out of me,\u201d Jones says.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I also knew I would most likely be working for the next 40 years, so pursuing my passions and actually enjoying my life needed to be a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n
It has paid off, with Jones now working in a marketing role three days a week and pursuing her design business in her free time, while Lim reports an improved work-life balance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is so much to life outside our work selves that is waiting to be experienced,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n