What's more important: clearing your inbox, or clearing your head?
Vacations provide employees with an opportunity to step away from the desk and press the reset button, if only for a couple of days. But are people actually relaxing on their vacations in today's connected age? And more importantly — are people even taking vacations anymore?
A new survey by TriNet, a California-based HR solutions provider, showed a concerning disparity between workers’ annual salaries and the usage of their paid time off. The study found that one third of workers surveyed use a majority of their PTO for medical emergencies or family obligations, and that those employees make on average $22,000 less per year than individuals who indicated they mainly use their PTO for pleasure.
The survey found that just 36 percent of workers used a majority of their PTO for pleasure and their average annual salary was approximately $76,000. That stark number may be influenced by several factors, including the assumption that individuals who earned more are more likely to have disposable income for pleasurable vacations. Nevertheless, the notion that 64 percent of workers aren’t utilizing their vacations for pleasure is an eye-opening realization.
You can't always get what you want
Workers do not underestimate the value of vacation time. 89 percent of those surveyed felt PTO was important to job satisfaction when considering a new position, and nearly half said they needed at least two to three weeks at minimum.
But despite the widespread agreement that PTO is imperative, 30 percent of workers said they don’t take any time off because they have too much work to do. And of those who do find time to use their PTO, 51 percent admitted to working at least one day during their PTO — demonstrating an inability to detach from the workplace.
Is unlimited PTO the solution or the problem?
The growing trend among tech companies is to provide employees with unlimited PTO, while having faith that they'll use it responsibly.
For growing companies, it's a useful tool to entice talent and provide freedom to employees. But the startup world's generally high turn-over rate also allows companies to avoid paying terminated workers unused PTO by granting them an unlimited amount instead.
And by not determining a set number of PTO days, workers won't feel any pressure to use them. So while some employees may exceed the standard of three weeks, many employees are too bogged down with work to leave the office for more than a day at a time.
Getting off the grid
Have all these factors played a role in America's shrinking vacations? Many may also point to technology as a growing deterrent to unplugging from the office.
The rise in popularity of remote work has played a part in blurring the lines between vacation and work. With the assumption that any worker can connect with the office via their laptop at any time, the idea of “getting away” isn’t as simple as it once was.
"We let people decide what they need in terms of their schedule" said Kathleen Prior Louis, Head of Talent at
The definition of vacation is becoming increasingly more ambiguous and is skewing how we perceive PTO — but if your company is looking to avoid expensive employee turnover, it's growing increasingly clear that setting a healthy PTO policy is imperative to your business' success.
See the full report here and check out TriNet's blog for more of the industry's top HR insights.
