大學生利用空檔年/間隔年(gap year) 休學創業已經不是啥新鮮事兒。而已經有工作的人也可以進行間隔旅行，或者利用這段時間去做別的事情。這被稱為“離職長假”（career break）。

A career break is a period of time out from employment. Traditionally, this was for mothers to raise children, but it is now used for people taking time out of their career for personal development and/or professional development.
Career break意為“離職長假”，此前起源于媽媽們休“離職長假”來養育子女，如今人們常借此進行個人或職業發展。

A career break is usually between one month and two years long. Six months to 2 years is the most common period of time for a career break. It's also possible to take a mini career break of less than one month, which enables people to try out career break activities without committing to longer periods of time. Shorter career breaks are most popular with the over-45s.
“離職長假”常在一個月到兩年之間，最常見的是半年到兩年。也有人會休個不到一個月的小假期，能讓人們可以用很短的時間開展一些活動。45歲以上的人更愿意休短假期。

It can take the form of a sabbatical, which can be paid or unpaid - unpaid sabbaticals are much more common. Sabbaticals were originally only offered to academics and clerics but are now being increasingly offered by companies.
“離職長假”可能會采用學術休假的形式，分帶薪和不帶薪，不帶薪的學術休假更常見。學術休假最初只提供給學者和牧師，如今越來越多的公司也給員工提供類似假期。

（中國日報網英語點津 yaning）