Americans are overwhelmed—but they aren’t taking the breaks they’ve earned. Nearly three-quarters of workers say they are stressed at work, with one-in-four reporting they are either “very” or “extremely” stressed.
It’s no surprise that Americans feel this way. Many workers leave their paid time off (PTO) unused, despite near-universal recognition of the importance and benefits of using PTO, from reducing stress to improving productivity when we return to work.
But when the U.S. Travel Association asked GfK Public Affairs and Corporate Communications to examine the attitudes and beliefs underlying America’s hard-charging work culture, GfK discovered that the benefits of PTO were no match for the fears that are keeping them at work.
In a survey of more than 1,300 employees and senior business leaders across the United States, it was revealed that workers construct many of their own biggest barriers to taking time off. Returning to a mountain of work and the feeling that nobody else could do their job were cited as the top reasons for not using PTO. The effects of a tough economy still linger with one-third of respondents, who said they cannot afford to use their time off, and roughly a fifth of workers expressed concern that they would be seen as replaceable if they used their PTO.
According to the survey, employees’ fears about using PTO are reinforced by their companies, where the silence can be deafening. While senior business leaders may support their employees in taking time off, they aren’t communicating it. In fact, two-thirds of employees are hearing nothing, negative or mixed messages from their employers about using PTO.
Key Findings
The Benefits of Paid Time Off are Universally Recognized.
- Nearly everyone surveyed (96%) recognizes the importance of using PTO, including 95 percent of senior business leaders.
- Huge majorities of American workers say PTO helps them relax and recharge (90%), offers the opportunity to do what they enjoy (88%) and makes them happier (85%). Nearly two-thirds (65%) say their concentration and productivity improve with PTO, and 61 percent report greater satisfaction at work.
- Senior business leaders agree that time off from work delivers benefits to their employees and companies: 91 percent believe employees return from PTO recharged and renewed—and ready to work more effectively.
Yet More Than Four in Ten of Us Will Leave PTO On the Table
- Still, 41 percent of American workers do not plan to use all their paid time off in 2014, even though it is part of their compensation.
Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Overwhelmed America: Why Don’t We Use Our Paid Time Off? | Travel Effect.
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