What company or business turns round to an employee and says, "Yea take whatever time off you need .." (I find it EXTREMELY hard to believe anyone's employers would actually allow someone to have 2 months of work and that their job would still be there for them to return back to after 8 weeks!!)
A returning employee costs less than training a new employee who may not be a good fit and only lasts a week or 2, Recruitment phase takes time and money