Almost half of employees aren’t taking all their PTO

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Taking time off from work is essential for employee wellbeing and productivity – this is the crux of why paid time off (PTO) or vacation time is offered by companies across the world. In many cases, the right to PTO is actually enshrined in law.

Despite 62% of workers saying that vacation time was important to them – and in fact more important than health insurance (51%), retirement funds (44%) or paid family leave (43%) – shockingly almost half (46%) of workers are taking less PTO than they are offered by their employer.

This is according to a survey of 6,000 US employees by the Pew Research Center, but these stats are corroborated by recent global research by Visier. Only 60% of global workers in Visier’s database of 17 million employee records take vacation; and shockingly, four in ten never take any holiday.

This begs the question, why aren’t employees taking vacation?

52% told Pew they didn’t take time off because they didn’t feel the need to do so. But more concerningly, 49% did not take PTO because they were worried they might fall behind, and 43% said they felt bad about their co-workers taking on extra work.

Visier’s research also identified that workload challenges might explain some of the PTO trends. This is linked with the fact that individual contributors take less leave than people managers (55% vs 81% – a 23 percentage point difference).

In addition, the Pew research found that 19% thought taking vacation might hurt their career advancement opportunities, while 16% believed they might risk losing their jobs and 12% said their manager discouraged them from taking time off.

Since Visier found that lower tenured employees took less PTO, this could confirm these concerns. 87% of employees with a tenure of ten years or more took PTO, compared to 62% for those with three to five year tenure and 55% for those with one to three years.

No PTO = burnout

Visier’s principle of research and value, Andrea Derler, shares with UNLEASH: “The findings are concerning and reveal that many employees are not taking the time off that they are entitled to.

“Whilst there might be various reasons for this decision making, all too often, we see that these further fuels burnout and all too often, contributes to a bigger talent exodus in the long term.”

The research from Visier actually found that 57% of employees are burnt out most or all the time.

But what can employers and HR teams do to ensure employees are taking PTO and avoiding getting burnt out?

Derler shares: “Not taking time off has serious implications on an employee’s emotional and mental state. We need to see business leaders leading by example in taking time off and recognizing the potential red flags of low paid time off utilization.

“The first thing organizations need to do is track how many employees actually take holiday. You may find that for the groups that do not take enough time off, they are less productive and may be more prone to turnover. Ultimately, the data can really help you understand your employees and the problem.

“If you see a team member struggling or showing signs of burnout, have an open and transparent conversation. Look out for your colleagues. Encourage them to rest and recuperate”.

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