I realized climbing the corporate ladder wasn't for me. A sabbatical gave me headspace to pivot, and I never went back.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Glenn Stephenson, 32, who lives in Belfast, UK. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I joined PwC after graduating with a business degree in 2016, and I knew the hyper-competitive environment would push me. Seven years in, I wanted to push myself again, so I requested a sabbatical.

My job had given me satisfaction and agency, but when I looked ahead, a structured career path in a corporate environment didn't really excite me. Becoming a partner seemed like a very all-consuming role.

I felt drawn to building something completely new, but I didn't really have the headspace at PwC to think about what I wanted to do next in my career. I hoped a break would help me figure that out while scratching my itch to travel.

The five months that followed were a springboard for building a business with my friend, which I eventually pivoted to full-time.

Not taking a break felt like the bigger risk

On evenings and weekends while I was at PwC, a good friend and I started working on an app to help people develop healthier screen time and focus habits. My friend was also keen to get some space from the corporate world, so we locked in our career breaks at the same time and planned to travel in South America for around five months.

I wasn't paid during the sabbatical, but I had saved consistently over roughly three years, which made the financial risk feel manageable. I felt quite confident that I would keep my job if I were to return, but I did wonder whether stepping away would slow my progress. I've always placed a premium on adventure, experimentation, and personal growth, so not taking a break and regretting it would have been the bigger risk.

We visited cool places while building our business

During the career break, it was important for us to strike a balance between planning epic things, like visiting some of the coolest cities and beaches in South America, and also holding each other accountable and committing time to the business.

What started as a little bit of work with more of a focus on travel developed into working on the business full-time and enjoying weekends abroad. By the five-month mark, we'd gained some traction with our business, Fluid Focus, including creating our minimum viable product. Just before we returned home in July 2024, we were accepted onto an accelerator program in Belfast, which gave us an office space to work from.

I extended my sabbatical at PwC because our business wasn't generating revenue, and I wanted job security. In April 2025, I resigned to go all in. We completed a £640,000 funding round last summer, and we're hoping to raise more money so we can transition from a startup to a scale-up.

A sabbatical is a great way to experiment before going all in

If your life circumstances allow for it, a sabbatical is a brilliant way to find the headspace to experiment with a business without going all in before you're ready. It provides an in-between period to get validation, and build confidence and a prototype. Now that AI helps founders prototype rapidly and test ideas with minimal upfront spend, that experimentation phase is faster and cheaper than ever.

Had I not stepped away from my job, I don't think we would have achieved what we have with the business. It's a time thing. I remember days when we'd put in 10 hours of work on a Sunday, but nothing compares to being able to work on your business every day of the week.

Life moves quickly. When a career break pulls you out of the cycle of chasing the promotion or progression and you climb Patagonia, you realize there's a lot of exploring still to do.

PwC declined to comment in response to a request from Business Insider.

Have you taken a career break and would like to share your story with Business Insider? Contact this reporter: ccheong@insider.com