Why Didn’t You Use Your PTO this Summer?

PTO is a privilege in the U.S. and a requirement in all other parts of the world. It’s one of the things Americans talk a lot about, how other countries get more vacation time than they do. Why then did only 27% of employees in the U.S. use their paid vacation time in 2021?

According to a study put out by Fidelity Subsidiary, IPXL: 

“...use of vacation days in the U.S. is at an all-time low of the past 40 years. We are giving up around 169 million PTO days annually — which is about $52.4 billion in forfeited benefits.”

If we know that time off is better for productivity, creativity and employee retention, why are so many U.S. workers reluctant to take all of their leave? The answer is a mix of outside pressures and deeply ingrained cultural values that keep people tied to their desks even when they are struggling with burn-out. 

Here are the top five reasons people don’t take PTO:

1. Fear

Particularly in the U.S. where work contracts are few and far between and at-will employment is the norm; employees don’t feel much job security. They have a fear of being replaced and a fear that people won’t miss them when they are gone. There’s also that deeper need to prove themselves. When employees feel the need to prove their value, one of the proof points of that value is being available at all times, including when they are on vacation.

2.Pressure from Managers

"People don't take vacations now, even when they're accrued," says Peter Cappelli, professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, US, and director of the school’s Center for Human Resources. “The reason is there's pressure on them not to do it." 

A lot of the CEOs and Business Owners I work with have trouble letting their employees go on vacation. They know it’s ‘necessary’ but they feel resentful and anxious about the time and money they are giving up. Some are resentful because they themselves haven’t figured a way to take time off. These managers feel the need to cover for everyone, which leads to more and more resentment. 

Christie Engler, director of HR for Consolidated Employer Services, an HR solutions firm based in Powell, Ohio, says, “they may be snubbed or may be looked down upon by their boss and the others in the office as well. I have seen leaders make other people feel terrible about taking time off.”

3.Not enough staff 

When a company isn’t properly staffed, the fact of someone being out on vacation could take a whole team down. The person’s colleagues need to take on a second job through the length of that person’s vacation. This is also why many people are reluctant to take time off, they don’t want to ‘dump’ their work on their teams or colleagues. Taking time off might also mean returning to a mound of tasks left undone. This is another common reason why employees check email or take calls while OOO.

4.Guilt

Employees firmly believe that they will be letting their managers and teams down if they aren’t there to do the work. Leaders and managers who fail to take time off also have an inflated belief that they are the only person who can do the work and that things will fall through the cracks if they aren’t there.

5.Pride

“Culturally in America, we equate taking time off as quitting or not having a high work ethic,” says Joey Price, CEO of an HR consultancy based in Baltimore, US. “There is stigma around the idea of not working.” This is something that is both deeply ingrained in the U.S. culture and a habit that American workers have gotten so used to that they themselves have a hard time breaking. 

When I started my coaching business, and was coaching people on the dangers of overworking, I realized that I was perpetuating the bad habit of working long hours to prove to myself that I was a hard worker, even when I didn’t have a boss or colleagues. It took a lot of time and mindfulness to break the habit and to break the stigma within myself. I had to work on believing that it was possible to be successful, and driven, without working 60 hours a week just to prove it.

“Overwork culture is thriving; we think of long hours and constant exhaustion as a marker of success. Given what we know about burnout, why do we give in?” 

- Brain Lufkin, BBC Worklife

The strangest thing about this ‘cult of overwork’ as the New Yorker coined it, is that we know that long hours diminish both productivity and the quality or our work output. Employers know this and are still reluctant and fearful of driving a culture where people are encouraged to take time off.

“The first step is to have healthier conversations around days off so that people don't feel the stigma,” Price says. This starts with employers sending a clear message: “It is OK to take a day off. We will not judge you negatively for it.”

It might also help employers, who need to break old habits, to measure the data and effectiveness of a company who is properly staffed, and employees who take regular time-off, particularly in companies which rely on their employees' problem solving and creative skills to prosper. The data might be enough to help them shift their thinking and change their ways.