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Pendy Hou

My Sabbatical: Pendy Hou

2 minutes

Could you imagine taking a whole month off work?Could you imagine being paid for it too?For ...

By Pendy Hou

Senior Account Manager

Could you imagine taking a whole month off work?

Could you imagine being paid for it too?

For Senior Account Manager, Pendy Hou, this was his reality. At First Point Group we give our employees an additional 20 days paid holiday on top of their annual leave after 3 full years of service to give them a chance to unwind and ensure they don’t burn out.

A sabbatical is a period away from work, agreed with your employer. The word is sometimes used interchangeably with ‘career break’ or ‘adult gap year’, but these are mostly the same thing. Sabbaticals are an uncommon work benefit, especially within the recruitment sector, so it’s always been one of FPG’s biggest attractions for its employees.


Pendy decided to use his sabbatical to backpack across Thailand & Bali. Here is what he had to say about his experience…

Where did you go and why?

“Thailand & Bali were two places I have always wanted to go as I’ve heard amazing things about the food, scenery and things to do. The main aim of the trip was to unwind and completely get away from work and what better way to do that than head to other side of the world with a fish bowl.”

Pendy travelled with 2 other employees who joined the company around the same time who also had their sabbatical that year.


How did you feel about leaving work for your sabbatical?

“It was very exciting and the sabbatical is definitely one of the best perks about working here. Leaving my work for such a long period of time was a daunting thought but it helped that my manager was constantly reminding me what a great time I was going to have. I was confident that I had prepared well for my absence although it did take some hard work to get ahead, it was all very much worth it and I was confident that my work was left in the capable hands of my colleagues.”

What were the effects?

“It only had positive effects coming back. It was like coming back to a new job I was heavily motivated to ensure I could go on more trips like that and to succeed for a company that looks after me.”

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