Dive Brief:
- A new TSheets study shows that most employees (63%) would turn down a job offer that didn't include paid time off (PTO). 88% of respondents said employers should offer PTO. TSheets surveyed 400 employees to find out their views on employers' PTO policies.
- The survey also revealed that a significant number of employees (70%) did not use all their PTO last year, and 26% of them had 10 or more unused PTO days. With a U.S. workforce of 151 million, that implies that employees left 600 million days of PTO on the table in 2016, the survey suggests.
- Most people are getting paid time off, but approximately 1 in 3 workers would like more, according to TSheets. 62% of employees would forego a raise for more flexibility in their work schedules and approximately 20% preferred PTO to a raise.
Dive Insight:
These and other survey results suggest that PTO is a more powerful recruitment tool than HR might think. In a poll released in January by Justworks and SquareFoot, 50% of respondents said they'd accept a lower-paying job for more time in their work schedules.
Employees clearly want PTO, yet, many don't take full advantage of the time they are offered. The millions of PTO days that go unused every year would seem to be at odds with employees wish for more time. A common reason employees give for not taking PTO is that they don't have the time, says TSheets. And disconnecting from the office even when taking time off can be difficult as employees often stay connected to the office through email, voicemail and other electronic means.
To keep productivity up and workers from feeling over-worked and burned out, employers might encourage workers to take their allotted time off and limit electronic connections to the office. It's also worth considering time off policies more broadly; employers should consider whether employees have enough sick leave and if workers feel they have to hold on to PTO in case something unforeseen comes up.
And even if employees aren't taking every PTO day they're allotted, the perception of more available time would resonate with employees who clearly value this benefit.
