The International Schools Review Forum

My significant other is feeling a bit burnt out. We both think it would be good for him to take a year off to decompress, and possibly write or get his MA. However, we're worried that this could seriously damage his career prospects. Will it? Does it help to "spin" the time off as a sabbatical or will employers assume that he's some sort of slacker or suspect him of ghosting a reference?

A year off is generally not harmful to a career. Especially if you can spin it as a sabbatical, educational advancement opportunity, etc.

It won't hurt. My wife did it and it made no difference. In fact, I think it actually helped!

The rule is you can do just about anything for up to a year and not suffer adversely in your marketability. While pursuing a Masters would allow your partner to add that to their resume, increasing their utility, the absence itself would be no different if they sat on a beach for a year. I would however not advertise that your sabbatical consisted of destroying ones liver while growing skin cancer or a preference for using opiates on their corn flakes.
After a year your resume begins losing marketability as your skills are perceived or in actuality become dated.