The dream of returning to Australia with her children took shape more than four years ago. Stéfanie discussed the plan for a sabbatical with her manager and started saving up her holiday days. ‘In the meantime, we also started saving at home, because Australia is not a cheap country.’
Last summer, the time had finally come, and Stéfanie and her family were able to make their trip. ‘It was so special to live there and do research. We lived in Melbourne and Brisbane, where I also worked at the university, and we travelled through Queensland in eastern Australia in a camper van.’ She mentions a few examples from a trip full of highlights. ‘An Aboriginal tour, snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef, feeding rock wallabies and (on the recommendation of a colleague) a boat trip where we even saw a whale and her calf jumping out of the water.’
However, something else has stayed with Stéfanie most from her time in Australia. ‘How open people are. A professor I worked with there promptly invited me to stay with his whole family for a weekend. It was so much fun that we were invited back for a week over Christmas. Our children still talk about that professor's Dalmatians.’
Via Teams after all
In any case, the trip provided Stéfanie with several new insights into her research on the work-life balance of employees.
‘I was able to see with my own eyes how different paternity leave is in Australia. Because fathers in Australia receive minimum wage, whereas in the Netherlands they continue to receive their full salary, they take much less paternity leave. As a result, childcare often falls to the mothers.’
Stéfanie already knew several Australian colleagues in her field, so the trip was also a great opportunity to meet up and exchange ideas. However, it turned out to be more difficult than expected to arrange meetings. ‘I regularly work with a colleague from Perth, but that was still a four-hour flight from where we were. Even though we were finally in the same country, we ended up meeting via Teams.’
Making progress at the office
Her time abroad also gave Stéfanie a different perspective on her workplace at Radboud University.
‘Partly due to budget cuts, the atmosphere within our faculty (Nijmegen School of Management ed.) wasn't always great. Before I left, I sometimes thought about looking for a job elsewhere, but in Australia, I began to realise more and more what I have here. So it was good to be back and see my colleagues again.’
What Stéfanie does miss are the Australian university offices. ‘The cool single rooms with stone walls, where you can really make progress with your research, were a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, you don't have that here.’ On the other hand, she is now back on a green, nature-rich campus. ‘In both Melbourne and Brisbane, the campus is in the middle of the city. A walk through the woods or a walking date is not possible there.’
In twelve years...
Stéfanie would recommend any colleague who loves to travel to save up for a sabbatical. However, she would do things a little differently next time. ‘This time, I saved three weeks a year for four years, which meant I sometimes had very few days off left. Ideally, I would save one and a half weeks a year for eight years. I'm already looking forward to the extra days off I now have left. Being able to take a day off when my husband is working and the children are at school, for example to make the photo album of Australia.’
Which country would Stéfanie visit during a new sabbatical? “Australia again! Our children are already saying, “In twelve years, we're going back”.’
Are you inspired by Stéfanie? Check how you can save for a sabbatical.