appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Should you wait until retirement to travel the world, train for that half-marathon you’ve set your sights on or volunteer for a local charity? This clashes with many young people’s notion of a healthy work-life balance, leading to a new career trend encouraged by social media: micro-retirement.
“Micro-retirement is a kind of career break or work hiatus,” says Marlene Pöhlmann, a careers expert for the Germany-based recruitment agency Robert Half.
It is typically taken between jobs, but for several months and not just two or three weeks – time enough to travel, give your family your all, or take up new hobbies.
“Instead of having retirement at the end of their [continuous] working life, employees deliberately insert interruptions,” Pöhlmann says.

This distinguishes it from a sabbatical, in which an employee is granted an extended absence by their employer. They often take a salary cut in that period.
Pöhlmann points to several reasons why concepts such as micro-retirement appeal to Generation Z, generally defined as people born between the mid-1990s and mid-2010s. First, they prioritise a satisfying work-life balance, mental well-being and personal fulfilment.
Secondly, the working world has changed – career paths are not as rigid as they once were. “Younger employees in particular often have 10 or more employers in their employment histories,” she says.
What’s more, a pension “for many younger employees is a promise they don’t know will be kept”. Many also worry that their best years will be behind them by the time they retire.
There’s no simple answer to how taking periodic, extended employment timeouts will affect your career. Various risks need to be considered, Pöhlmann says. In some countries, for example, having a gapless employment history is still the norm.

She also warns that micro-retirees can miss out on possible promotions. Being at the right place at the right time can be very important, and “if you’re not around as much, you’re not seen as much”.
On the other hand, micro-retirement gives you more time to invest in yourself, such as your soft skills, adaptability and creativity.
Whether extended breaks between jobs affects your career often depends in part on how closely your work-life-balance expectations mesh with those in your field or those of a specific employer.
The first big question should be, ‘Do I really want to do this?’
Marlene Pöhlmann, careers expert
Extended breaks in traditional fields, for example the financial industry, legal profession or engineering, are generally frowned upon, says Pöhlmann.
The IT sector can be more liberal in this regard, not least because of the serious shortage of qualified personnel.
And in the creative professions, she notes, taking time off between jobs tends to be normal.
If you’re contemplating micro-retirement, it is important to carefully think through possible consequences.
“The first big question should be, ‘Do I really want to do this?’” Pöhlmann says. More questions follow, above all: “Can I afford it?” People who leave their jobs generally need savings.
You should also work out ahead of time how it will impact your health insurance and pension scheme. In any case, you should have a clear plan of how you’ll spend your time off and what you’ll do afterwards.
Like what you read? Follow SCMP Lifestyle on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also sign up for our eNewsletter here.


A guide to Hong Kong’s bitter herbal teas and how Gen Z is reviving the health tradition

Focused ultrasound could be the next big cancer breakthrough for hard-to-treat tumours

How much sex should a couple have? Focus on quality over quantity, experts say

Thailand makes weight-loss pens prescription-only to counter glut of illegal medicines

Wellness

Why ‘micro-retirement’ and work-life balance appeal to Gen Z and millennials

Instead of having retirement at the end of their continuous working life, more employees are choosing to deliberately insert interruptions.
Photo: Shutterstock

Woman, thinking and walk in Japanese park with smile in woods for travel on vacation, adventure and explore path. Gen z, student and happy on holiday in nature, forest and trail with trees in Kyoto

Micro-retirement is a kind of career break or work hiatus, says Marlene Pöhlmann, a careers expert for recruitment agency Robert Half. Photo: linkedin.com

Extended career breaks are generally better accepted in the IT industry and creative professions than in many others. Photo: Shutterstock

Hong Kong ASMR show triggers ‘weird sensation’ of internet trend with things you can touch

Visitorstot the “Weird Sensation Feels Good” ASMR exhibition. Photo: Jonathan Wong

A section of “Weird Sensation Feels Good: The World of ASMR” at Airside in Kai Tak. The show features works from international and Hong Kong artists designed to create a “very personal” sensory experience. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Visitors in the ASMR arena at Weird Sensation Feels Good: The World of ASMR, at Airside mall in Kai Tak until July 13. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Exhibition designer Dagnija Smilga, lead curator James Taylor-Foster and co-curator Daisy Chu at the Hong Kong exhibition. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The exhibition features more than 40 works including reproduced text files, pieces of audio, videos, paintings and mixed media installations. Photo: courtesy of Johan Dehlin / Ēter

A visitor takes a picture of Swedish artist Tobias Bradford’s That feeling//immeasurable thirst. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The ASMR Arena is designed to be a place where visitors can relax as well as interact with artists’ works. Photo: Jonathan Wong

A visitor admires a work in the Kai Tak exhibition. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The exhibition features a Hong Kong section where ASMR-themed works are designed to make visitors feel like they are taking public transport, from buses to trains. Photo: Jonathan Wong

ASMR-themed artworks by Hong Kong artists AK Kan (left) and Lam Kin-lam for their ASMR Creation Station at the exhibition. Photo: Jonathan Wong

ASMR Kan and Lam’s Creation Station features massage balls, Chinese calligraphy brushes and other everyday objects found in Hong Kong. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Surfing psychologist’s study shows mental health benefits of the sport Hong Kong banned

Psychologist and surfer Dr Judith Blaine at Big Wave Bay in Hong Kong. Photo: Antony Dickson

Hong Kong-based researcher Dr JudIth Blaine on the beach in Big Wave Bay, Hong Kong, in January 2025. A surfer herself, Blaine recently delved into the relationship between surfing and mental well-being. Photo: Antony Dickson

Dr Judith Blaine, a researcher and consultant on mental well-being, recently delved into the relationship between surfing and mental health. Photo: Antony Dickson

A word cloud illustrating participants’ responses to surfing from Blaine’s study, Where the Tides of Life Make Sense: Insights from Surfers in Hong Kong. Photo: courtesy of Judith Blaine 

Blaine in Big Wave Bay in January 2025. Her survey reveals how surfers benefit mentally and physically from their sport. Photo: Antony Dickson

Jamie Marshall completed the world’s first PhD dedicated to surf therapy at Edinburgh Napier University. Photo: courtesy of Jamie Marshall

Many of the respondents of Blaine’s online survey reported that surfing influenced their intrapersonal skills “a lot”. Photo: Judith Blaine

A “No surfing” sign at Big Wave Bay, Hong Kong. Photo: Connor Mycroft

Mahohi Nguyen Tang, 10, was born in Hong Kong to Swiss parents and learned to surf at Big Wave Bay, but after the government crackdown on the sport, he goes to Switzerland in the summer to train. Photo: Antony Dickson

Longevity wellness gyms can help extend health spans so you live longer in good shape

Chi Longevity with Sparkd fuses physical and cognitive training. Photo: Chi Longevity with Sparkd

At Singapore longevity wellness centre Sparkd, brain-body workouts aim to extend participants’ health spans, or the years they live in good health. Photo: Chi Longevity with Sparkd

Chi Longevity with Sparkd is a new partnership in Singapore integrating physical exercise with cognitive training to prolong clients’ lifespans and health spans. Photo: Chi Longevity with Sparkd

Anna Milani founded Sparkd after losing her grandfather to Alzheimer’s disease. Photo: Sparkd

Chi Longevity with Sparkd’s brain-body workouts use game-like exercises to enhance cognitive and physical performance. Photo: Chi Longevity with Sparkd

Milani considers longevity gyms to be the future of health; she says traditional health and wellness programmes rarely aim to improve cognitive function. Photo: Chi Longevity with Sparkd

10x Longevity offers contrast therapy, which involves an infrared sauna session followed by a cold plunge. Photo: 10x Longevity

A client relaxes inside the hyperbaric oxygen chamber at 10x Longevity. HBOT has been linked to increased lifespan and health span. Photo: 10X Longevity

Telomeres typically shorten as the body ages, but a study in Israel found HBOT may reverse this process. Photo: Shutterstock 

Research shows that alternating between sauna sessions and cold plunges can boost cardiovascular health and immune function, and even cognitive function. Photo: 10X Longevity

Why the Year of the Wood Snake starting in 2025 could bring major change, and more luck

A snake at a farm in Bangkok, Thailand. The next lunar new year will be a Year of the Wood Snake, which comes around every 60 years. The previous one, in 1965, saw dynamic change and upheaval. Are we in for more of the same? Photo: Getty Images

Snakes made of palm leaves are displayed in Shanghai to celebrate the previous Year of the Snake in 2013. Photo: Getty Images

Following the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, people line up to vote, most for the first time, in Alabama in the US in 1966. Photo: Getty Images

Angry depositors protest and clash with police outside the office of the chairman of the Canton Trust and Commercial Bank in 1965, the previous Year of the Wood Snake in the Chinese lunisolar calendar. Photo: Chan Kiu

Lifestyle

Health & Wellness

Health

A rising workplace trend involves employees taking months-long career breaks while they are still young and active


A rising workplace trend involves employees taking months-long career breaks while they are still young and active.


Why ‘micro-retirement’ and work-life balance appeal to Gen Z and millennials

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A rising workplace trend involves employees taking months-long career breaks while they are still young and active

A rising workplace trend involves employees taking months-long career breaks while they are still young and active