This is common in academia, so I was wondering if this ever happens in industry.
I work at a traditional medium-sized company with high profits but is currently struggling to hire engineers, and has been for a long while. The HQ is in rural area nearby a small city so it's not necessarily the most attractive option for new grads unless they're desperate. Even so, ever since the great resignation started, the company I work for has been struggling to get new workers, especially in technical or factory positions. They constantly have lotteries and other incentives to try and get people to recommend applicants, so it's blatantly obvious.
I already have a tremendous reputation in the company after working there for a few years. I get stellar performance reviews (even when I don't actually put that much effort in) and I'm generally recognized as someone who “represents the company well” (explicitly told this by numerous higher ups, and also shown this by getting to travel to conferences I'm interested in and such, interviewed multiple times for whatever marketing BS). Not to mention, my boss let it slip that one of the executives said something along the lines of, “We can't afford lose [OP] over this.” They recognize my value.
However, the last project I just led and finished has been going for 2.5 years now and I'm burnt out. I did the work of multiple people and I need a break that is more than just a week or so vacation, or else I think I might go insane.
Given my leverage, does it seem feasible that I could ask for a month-long sabbatical? I genuinely don't care if it's unpaid because I can afford it. I would just like the option to rest before embarking on the next project. I'm still pretty young but my position is in research so it doesn't directly affect the company's bottom line.
Has this ever worked for anyone?
I've also considered just quitting and taking a break but there are a couple short-term projects I could work on soon and I believe they would be directly useful for my next career jump. But I couldn't possibly bear to work on them if I can't take a damn break. If not in part to let other people at the company know I'm done with my previous project (as it's now a commercialized product and I don't want to be dragged into assisting with it, which is inappropriate for my department).