Nearly 25 percent of American workers did not take any vacation days in the past year, even though most have access to paid time off.

A survey of more than 3,000 workers found that 82 percent receive paid time off, but many avoid using it because of heavy workloads, with 43 percent saying their workload is too high to justify a day away.

Other reasons for not using paid time off include not having enough days, fear of falling behind, guilt or pressure to appear committed, and a perception that employers do not clearly support time off.

Nearly half of surveyed workers took only one to ten days off all year, and about a quarter believe their manager would discourage taking a full week of vacation.

Different paid time off structures reported include accrued time, a fixed number of days, use-it-or-lose-it policies, and unlimited paid time off, with some evidence that employees with unlimited policies actually take fewer days off.

Source: https://www.fox4now.com/news/local-news/americans-are-leaving-hundreds-of-dollars-on-the-table-by-not-using-paid-time-off

So, the question for our readers is: Why Do Employees Not Take PTO?

Here is an opinion of one of the McCalmon editorial staff:

Jack McCalmon, Esq.

First, approximately 75 percent of employees are using their paid time off. For the remainder, the decision not to schedule time away appears, in most cases, to be a personal choice (or based on a perception) because, outside a few roles, taking PTO is not itself a job requirement. That said, any direct or indirect pressure from management to forgo earned PTO is inappropriate and inconsistent with sound employment practices.

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