Employees Leaving PTO On The Table Isn't Necessarily Good For Business

According to a recent survey conducted by Pew Research Center, nearly half of US workers are leaving at least some of their paid time off days unused. 

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According to the survey results, 46% of American employees with PTO benefits are leaving vacation days on the table, are neglecting medical appointments, and/or coming into work with minor illnesses instead of utilizing their prescribed sick days. 

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Another key finding from the survey was the disparity in PTO usage based on employee income. Employees with income levels in the upper ranges were more likely than their middle-income and lower-income peers to underutilize their PTO, with 51% of upper-income workers taking less personal time off than offered, whereas 45% of middle income and 41% of lower-income workers left PTO days unused.

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The level of education attained by employees also correlated to willingness to take time off, with more than half (51%) of workers that have a bachelor’s degree or higher indicating a reluctance to take time off while about 10% fewer less-educated workers (41%) reported foregoing the time off that is offered to them. 

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An employee’s status as salaried or hourly as well as their managerial classification also appears to influence their comfort-level when it comes to exercising PTO benefits. According to the survey, 51% of salaried employees forgo some portion of their allotted paid time off compared to 39% of hourly employees who do the same, while 54% of managers take less time off than they could relative to the 42% of non-managerial employees who do so. 

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The survey also revealed discrepancies across industries in terms of how likely employees working within each industry were to utilize all of the PTO allocated to them, with employees in the fields of education, public administration, government, and the military all being especially likely to show up at work more often than they’re technically required. Education tops the list with 68% of employees in the education industry not maximizing their excused absences, followed by government workers, 57% of whom elect to abstain from full PTO usage.

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As for why employees are foregoing earned benefits, 52% of employees who don’t maximize their PTO simply said they didn’t need as much time-off as was available. Nearly as many at 49%, however, cited fears about work piling up when they are away from the job, which is a concern shared by the 43% who limit their time-off because they feel bad about the extra burden their coworkers have to shoulder when they’re not there to carry their weight.

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There are some differences among demographics in terms of what’s motivating employees to work through their time off that are worth noting, as well. Women are more likely than men to report feeling guilty about offloading their responsibilities onto colleagues, for example, and black workers are more likely than their white counterparts to worry about professional repercussions and job termination as a result of taking too much PTO. Newer hires are also more likely than more senior employees to leave PTO days on the table.

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While motivation for doing so may vary, however, two things that employers and human resources managers can do to assuage employee concerns about taking PTO are leading by example via utilizing the vacation/sick, etc. days that they have personally accumulated as needed, and by proactively, explicitly encouraging employees to take advantage of the paid time off benefits that they have earned. 

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Although more hours at work may seem like a benefit to employers on a surface level analysis, employees who stay out of the office when they’re sick and who maintain a better work life balance are more likely to result in increased productivity and work product improvements on balance over time, which is the best possible outcome for both employers and employees. 

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You can read more about this survey and analysis here.