The state of PTO, by the numbers
While paid time off policies can vary greatly by organization, creating a positive PTO culture still remains a challenge for many employers who will have staff out of the office over the coming months. Here’s a look at the state of taking PTO in the U.S, using data primarily from a survey by the Harris Poll conducted in April among over 1,000 employed U.S. adults.
- 7% of workers in the U.S. have unlimited PTO, while the same number have more than 30 days off yearly.
- More than 4 in 10 employees believe unlimited PTO is a scam, but over 1 in 5 employees with fixed PTO plans to change jobs in the next year.
- The largest share of workers, 34%, get 11 to 20 paid days off yearly.
- The average worker took 15 paid days off last year, or three work weeks.
- 78% of workers do not take the maximum amount of time off that they are allowed.
- 63% of workers said pressure to meet deadlines and stay productive keeps them from taking all their vacation days.
- About half of workers said they get nervous even requesting to take time off, and about the same said it makes them feel guilty.
- 66% of workers said they dread the backlog awaiting them when they return from PTO.
Actually taking PTO is still a bit of luxury for American workers who often feel guilty about the work and colleagues they’re leaving behind. It drives many to check their emails while away and not feel like they’re truly able to unplug. Others take “hush vacations” where they have taken time off or traveled without telling their employer. About 28% of workers in the Harris Poll survey admitted to this, and said they use tactics like moving their mouse around to maintain an online status, or scheduling emails to send when they aren’t really at their desks.
Accordingly, it’s up to HR and others in leadership to better foster a positive PTO culture, where staff are encouraged to take time off while the burden put on others is acknowledged and alleviated, workplace experts say. Over 70% of workers said they wish their company’s culture placed a stronger emphasis on the value of taking breaks and utilizing time off.
“A lot of organizations are moving towards unlimited PTO, but then we’re still seeing that large groups of people are not actually utilizing it, so that to me says a lot more about your culture than your policy,” said Kaitlin Howes, HR business partner at Reward Gateway, an employee engagement platform.
Negative PTO cultures are driven by unclear expectations, she said. To start, workers may be unaware of what a high performer actually looks like at their organization and assume it’s one who’s always busy and available. “I think it’s really important for us to have our people understand what a high performer looks like. Do you have that type of matrix in place? I highly doubt that that matrix includes never taking PTO,” Howes said.
Another issue is a lack of pre-PTO protocols, leaving handoffs messy and making workers on both sides unclear about the state of certain projects. Companies need to have better systems in place for staff about to take time off to list their current projects and define what needs to be picked up by someone else and what can be tabled until they return.
“Oftentimes the reason people feel like they can’t take time off is that they are the only one who knows the answers to certain questions, or the only person who does certain processes. But the best way to prevent that from happening is to educate and create resources so that others can plug in when needed,” said Annie Rosencrans, people and culture director at HiBob, an HR platform.
“It really does need to be a strategic priority for teams to create coverage plans for individuals to go offline, so that there is no single point of failure when someone temporarily takes time off or for personal reasons, that things will be covered in their absence,” she said.
Another key part of a positive PTO culture is having leadership better model what it looks like to take all of their paid time off. Leaders should acknowledge, celebrate and talk about it when they’re going OOO, and encourage others to do the same, she said.
“People are struggling with mental health more than ever so it really is on employers to take this seriously and to encourage that separation, and to enable it as well,” she said.