An interesting study published in October from the website FlexJobs finds that
Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. Workers Took No Vacation Days in the past year.
It certainly feels like employees are being overworked in certain industries, but is it possible some of that is self-inflicted, as this seems to suggest? But that's not the full story. While these employees did have an option to take paid days off, note what the study of 3,063 respondents explains:
"Even though most employees (82%) have paid time off (PTO), many avoid using it due to heavy workloads, manager expectations, and unsupportive company cultures. Nearly half (42%) took just one to 10 days off, while 25% said their manager would discourage them from taking a full week away."
Expanding on the reasons workers aren't taking time off, the study points out the following:
- 43% say their workload is too heavy to justify time away
- 34% don’t have enough paid time off
- 30% fear falling behind
- 29% feel guilty or pressured to appear committed
- 19% say their employer doesn’t clearly support taking time off
What a terrible thing to do to your workers. No company culture should ever discourage taking paid days off. If you work for such a company, I hope you can get out or do what you can to change that culture.
Now on to this week's hand-picked productivity links!
