When fictional stock trader Gordon Gekko pronounced that lunch was for "wimps", he was summing up an attitude that characterised the high-pressure business culture of the 1980s. Nothing, not even a short break for coffee and a sandwich at the local deli, should interrupt the process of doing deals and making money. Fast-forward 20 years and we can only speculate on what Gordon Gekko would make of the sabbatical career break.

Traditionally, the sabbatical was a perk that academics enjoyed while the rest of the world looked on enviously. However, in the 1990s, the idea of taking a paid or unpaid break of anything between a month and a year caught on among the over-stressed players of Silicon Valley and today the practice is becoming more common in the wider business community.

Indeed, when research firm IRS polled 161 UK companies for its 2006 Employment Review, more than half said they would consider offering extended leave to their key staff. John Lewis and the Guardian Media Group are among those who offer sabbaticals as a benefit for long-serving staff and earlier this year Tesco revealed that Colin Holmes, CEO of its convenience store division, would be taking an eight-month leave of absence. 

It's a trend that's been driven at least in part by staff retention concerns, with the sabbatical providing a kind of pressure valve. And in theory at least, sabbaticals can also have a positive impact on business performance as executives return to their posts re-energised, re-enthused and ready to take a fresh look at problems. As a consequence, the organisation itself is refreshed. Jonathan Denny, a managing partner at solicitors Cripps Harries Hall, says sabbaticals can indeed have a beneficial effect, not only on the individuals but also on the organisations they work for.

His firm is unusual in that it has operated a compulsory sabbatical policy since the 1970s. Whether they want to or not, once partners have served 10 years, they are required to clear their desks and leave the office for three months. "It's a way of rewarding partners for working hard," says Denny. "And the business justification is that it gives them a chance to recharge their batteries."

Denny went on his second sabbatical two years ago and used the time to travel in Australia and South Africa. It was a complete break. Safe in the knowledge that he would not be contacting the office for several months he was free to soak up the sights and reflect on his role at the firm from a healthy distance. "I was charged with writing a new business plan for the firm when I returned," he says. "One of the things I noticed when I was travelling was that the service ethos in Australia and South Africa was much stronger than in the UK. When I wrote my plan, I put service right at the heart of our offering." The result was a new regime that rewarded partners who went the extra mile for clients.

Sabbaticals are often taken in lieu of garden leave. But they can also provide a welcome space for a readjustment when someone is moving within an organisation. Certainly that was the experience of Dan Northover, now managing director of interactive design agency Global Beach. He was already a director at the company when he was asked to take on the role of MD. "When I accepted the promotion, my CEO told me to take some time away before taking on the job," he says. 

It was an opportunity to spend five weeks trekking through Vietnam, Cambodia and Burma. While he was keen to put himself well beyond the reach of any signal that might deliver email to his Blackberry, Northover couldn't help but reflect on the nature of the digital divide in the developing world. "Vietnam was more advanced than I expected but when I got to Burma, I could see how big the digital divide could really be," he says. Northover says that his experiences gave him a new perspective on the day-to-day issues at Global Beach. "Very often something that isn't really important gets blown into a big issue. Spending time away gave me a perspective on that," he says.

Whether that kind of fresh perspective translates into better management is open to debate, but Northover's leave of absence certainly had an impact on his colleagues. "I knew when I moved up to MD, I would have to relinquish my old role. Going away for five weeks helped me to let go and allowed others to take over." 

Daryl Willcox, founder of internet company Daryl Willcox Publishing, was also looking at a major change of role when he opted to take an extended break. In his case, he was moving sideways from CEO to chairman. It's a notoriously difficult transition to pull off, not least because the continued presence of the chairman may undermine the authority of the new chief executive. It was partly with that in mind that Willcox embarked on a break that took in flying helicopters in Majorca and travels around the UK, introducing a new baby to friends and family. In the meantime, his successor was free to put his stamp on the business. 

Willcox says he returned from a relatively short sabbatical—just four weeks—with a renewed enthusiasm for the business, but the time away also helped him reach a decision. "I wanted to spend less time in the office. Now I just go in one day a week and spend the rest of the time visiting customers and writing white papers at home," he says.

Willcox is perhaps luckier than most in that he is a founder of the company and can feel pretty secure in his position. Others may conclude that sabbaticals dissolve the myth of indispensability and allow colleagues to prosper in the vacuum. Elspeth May of executive coaching company Praesta cautions that anyone seeking to take a sabbatical should prepare the ground carefully. "You should put together a business case and you should talk to your colleagues and make sure you have their support," she says.

And if that support is forthcoming, enjoy the trip.