As summer draws to a close, have your employees taken advantage of all the paid vacation time available to them? Workers who don’t take sufficient time off can suffer from stress and burnout, making them less effective at their jobs. Yet a survey by employee scheduling and time tracking software provider TSheets reports that many U.S. employees don’t take advantage of employee paid time off (PTO). Here’s a closer look at what the survey found.
Employee paid time off by the numbers
PTO is one of the most desired benefits among employees. About three-fourths of employees in the survey say it’s “very important” to have paid vacation time, sick time, and holidays at their jobs.
Nearly seven in 10 (69%) of employees in the survey get PTO. The industries most likely not to get any PTO are hospitality and food workers. Among employees who do get paid time off, the average amount of PTO days annually is:
- 7 vacation days
- 6.5 sick days
- 4 personal days
- 6.5 holidays
- 2 volunteering days
Employees who get a lump sum of paid time off are offered an average of 8.8 days annually.
Employees aren’t using their paid time off
Although most workers do get PTO, that doesn’t mean they’re actually using it. More than 60% of those with PTO admit that they didn’t use all of their time last year. On average, TSheets estimates the amount of PTO that employees left on the table adds up to approximately $1,800 per employee in unused PTO each year.
So why aren’t employees using all of their time off? The majority of employees who don’t use their PTO say they are saving it to use later (that is, to carry over to the following year). In addition, 11% of extremely honest employees say they don’t get sick often enough to use all of their sick days.
The takeaway: Of course, some employees may want to save their vacation days for a longer vacation next year, rather than using them all up this year. However, it’s important to strike a balance between this need and the need for employees to get some downtime. Be sure you’re creating a culture where employees feel comfortable taking time off when they need it. You can start by actually taking some days off yourself.
Another behavior that can be more harmful to your business: 84% of employees say they go to work when they’re sick instead of taking a sick day. One-third say this is something that their employers actually encourage.
Ironically, the employees who need time off the most may be the least likely to use it. The employees in the survey who say their work is extremely stressful are more likely to work during their time off (70% have done so) or go to work when they’re sick for a period of more than one week (one in five have done so).
The takeaway: For many businesses, there’s no reason anyone who is sick should come into work. If your business allows for employees to work from home—at least, in emergency situations such as being sick—employees will feel they can handle urgent work while still getting some rest. At the same time, don’t create a culture where employees feel they can’t stop working even when they’re ill. Taking a day off to recuperate can often mean less time lost in the long run.